One Thing I would like to change about India is to provide universal access “Health for All” irrespective of age, class, gender and race. Health reach is pathetic in our country. People die for want of simple operations like young children dying of appendicitis which is a simple curable disease, women suffering from excessive bleeding for want of simple uterus removal operation, old men suffering from hernia which is again a simple operative procedure.
Presently there is Inequitable Distribution of Healthcare services. They are not there which needs the most and even if they are there, it is out of reach of many. Even if a middle class person has to be hospitalized it shakes him because of the cost incurred. It is estimated that hospitalization is responsible for pushing 5-8% of people below poverty line every year. The need for today’s healthcare is reducing the cost so that it is available each and everyone in the country. We are still fighting with diseases like Tuberculosis, Kala Azar etc which are unheard of in many of the countries. Despite many Pulse Polio Programs we are still struggling with Polio.
And with this we are facing new “lifestyle disorder” like Diabetes, Hypertension and some deadly diseases like HIV/AIDS. India is second largest diabetic population in the world and with this rate it would surpass all the figures. Coming to the healthcare spend by the government. India spends just 0.9-1.2% of GDP on healthcare and if we compare the same with leading countries like U.S. (5-6%) U.K. (6.4%) it appears like tiny dwarf. Even if the primary healthcare centers are there, there is no doctor to treat patients. And more than that Health doesn’t mean just being free from any disease, it means attaining best of physical, mental, spiritual and social health. It should not be only the survival but to live the life to the fullest. So for India to really prosper (along with double digit growth rate) we really have to do something about the Healthcare model in India.
- Dr. Anshumaan Yadava
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