Healthcare in India - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Healthcare in India features a universal health care

Universal health care

Universal health care is a term referring to organized health care systems built around the principle of universal coverage for all members of society, combining mechanisms for health financing and service provision.-History:...

system run by the constituent states and territories of India

States and territories of India

India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...

. The Constitution

Constitution of India

The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India. It lays down the framework defining fundamental political principles, establishes the structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions, and sets out fundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of citizens...

charges every state

States and territories of India

with "raising of the level of nutrition

Nutrition

Nutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet....

and the standard of living

Standard of living

Standard of living is generally measured by standards such as real income per person and poverty rate. Other measures such as access and quality of health care, income growth inequality and educational standards are also used. Examples are access to certain goods , or measures of health such as...

of its people and the improvement of public health

Public health

Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...

as among its primary duties". The National Health Policy was endorsed by the Parliament of India

Parliament of India

The Parliament of India is the supreme legislative body in India. Founded in 1919, the Parliament alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all political bodies in India. The Parliament of India comprises the President and the two Houses, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha...

in 1983 and updated in 2002.

Malnutrition

47% of India’s children below the age of three are malnourished, almost twice the statistics of sub-Saharan African region of 28%.
World Bank estimates this figure to be 60 million children out of a global estimated total of 146 million. Although India’s economy grew 50% from 2001–2006, its child-malnutrition rate only dropped 1%, lagging behind countries of similar growth rate. Malnutrition impedes the social and cognitive development of a child, reducing his educational attainment and income as an adult. These irreversible damages result in lower productivity.

High infant mortality rate

Approximately 1.72 million children die each year before turning one. The under five mortality rate and infant mortality rate indicators have been declining comparing years 1970 and 2002 (202 to 90 & 192 to 68 per thousand live births respectively). However, this rate of decline is slowing. Reduced funding for immunization leaves only 43.5% of the young fully immunized. Infrastructures like hospitals, roads, water and sanitation are lacking in rural areas. Shortages of healthcare providers, poor intra-partum and newborn care, diarrheal diseases and acute respiratory infections, also contribute to the high infant mortality rate.

Diseases

Diseases such as dengue fever, hepatitis, tuberculosis, malaria and pneumonia continue to plague India due to increased resistance to drugs. India is ranked 3rd among the countries with the most number of HIV-infected. Diarrheal diseases are the primary causes of early childhood mortality. These diseases can be attributed to poor sanitation and inadequate safe drinking water in India.

Poor sanitation

As more than 122 million households have no toilets and 33% lack access to latrines, over 50% of the population (638 million) defecates in the open. This is relatively higher than Bangladesh and Brazil (7%) and China (4%). Although 211 million people gained access to improved sanitation from 1990–2008, only 31% uses them. 11% of the Indian rural families dispose of child stools safely whereas 80% of the population leave their stools in the open or throw them into the garbage. Open air defecation leads to the spreading of diseases and malnutrition through parasitic and bacterial infections.

Inadequate safe drinking water

Access to protected sources of drinking water has improved from 68% of the population in 1990 to 88% in 2008. However, only 26% of the slum population has access to safe drinking water and 25% of the total population has drinking water on their premises. This problem is exacerbated by falling levels of groundwater, caused mainly by increasing extraction for irrigation. Insufficient maintenance of the environment around water sources, groundwater pollution, excessive arsenic and fluoride in drinking water pose a major threat to India's health.

Healthcare infrastructure

The Indian healthcare industry is seen to be growing at a rapid pace and is expected to become a US$280 billion industry by 2020.

Rising income levels and a growing elderly population are all factors that are driving this growth. In addition, changing demographics, disease profiles and the shift from chronic to lifestyle diseases in the country has led to increased spending on healthcare delivery.

In order to meet manpower shortages and reach world standards India would require investments of up to $20 billion over the next 5 years.

External links

Health Care NGO India
The State of the World's Midwifery - India Country Profile
Another perspective on Indian Healthcare - http://healthopine.com

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