The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has announced provisions for the distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE) kits to the nation’s healthcare providers amidst the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak. Already, 60,000 PPE kits have been procured by the Union Health Ministry for hospitals so healthcare workers can safeguard themselves against COVID-19. 3.34 lakh PPEs […]
Healthcare
Health workers face a massive struggle
During the Janata Curfew, throngs of Indians broke out in applause and other displays of gratitude in a mass felicitation of the country’s health workers manning the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. However, for many doctors, nurses, and other healthcare personnel, the reality of the pandemic is grim. Numerous reports have […]
Janata Curfew sees health workers praised
The Janata Curfew which saw millions of Indians nationwide self-quarantine for fourteen hours led to an outpouring of thanks for the country’s health workers. The mass felicitation witnessed Indians across the nation who heeded Modi’s call for the Janata curfew to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic to applaud and ring bells in honour of the healthcare […]
AI in healthcare: The coming expansion
The application of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare is one of the most significant trends to have emerged in digital health in recent years. New projections suggest the sector can expect significant growth in the next few years. By 2026, forecasters have said AI-based healthcare will be worth US$8 billion – a growth of 49.7 […]
Malnutrition in Muzaffarpur – hotspot of Bihar’s encephalitis deaths
The outbreak of acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district has raised eyebrows about the efficacy of healthcare infrastructure in the state. Now, one initiative aimed at combating malnutrition – implicated as a cause behind the crisis of encephalitis deaths among the district’s children – has come under scrutiny. The district ranked eighteenth out […]
Medical waste: A pollution crisis no-one talks about
Because of pollution, 350 hospitals and clinics in Goa face closure. This is not because of air pollution, however. It is because of a different pollutant entirely: medical waste. The Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) has issued show cause notices to the facilities in question because of their failure to “[apply] for authorisation and […]
#HealthForAll: Why India lacks access to healthcare
Here is another example of the crumbling state of India’s healthcare infrastructure and the reason behind lack of access to essential, life-saving drugs. India has a shortage of an estimated 600,000 doctors and two million nurses, claims a study conducted by the Centre for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP), titled “Access Barriers to Antibiotics.” […]
Strikes beset Indian hospitals
Doctors’ strikes in multiple Indian states are hitting public and private hospitals alike. A strike by private doctors in Uttarakhand is forcing many patients to turn to government hospitals for treatment. The week-long strike has resulted in public health facilities becoming overburdened by a sudden spike in demand. The issue has come to the attention […]
Lack of forensic doctors highlights a national crisis
Shocking findings from Punjab have served to highlight one of the biggest issues confronting public health in India: the country’s lack of specialist doctors. Doctors untrained in the field of forensics perform eighty percent of autopsies in the state. This is resulting in “poor quality of work”, warns Dr D S Bhullar, president of the […]
Healthcare equipment: The greatest disparity?
![A primary health centre in Thuravoor, Kerala. Strengthening India's primary healthcare infrastructure through HWCS is a core of Ayushman Bharat. (Image credit: Ranjithsiji [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons)](https://i1.wp.com/www.healthissuesindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/800px-Thuravoor_Primary_Health_Center_Main_Building.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1 "Healthcare equipment: The greatest disparity?")
It is no secret that healthcare in India is a disparate situation. Urban areas, despite catering to a minority of the population, continue to house the majority of healthcare infrastructure. Rural areas often have such poorly developed healthcare infrastructure in their area that access to such basic medicines as paracetamol or ibuprofen is sporadic at […]