Behind even Nepal, Bhutan

GOVERNMENTS have come and gone but India’s sorry spending on health continues to remain a cause for consternation; to put in perspective, our spending on health is lower than that of supposedly “less prosperous” neighbours Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. A new report, the National Health Profile (NHP) 2018, is another eye-opener that puts the government’s per capita spending on health at a paltry Rs 1,112 per person per year. The Centre’s outlay for health has improved marginally, but that is neutralised by state-level apathy. A NITI Aayog report found low-income states were generally parsimonious in spending on social services, especially health. 

As a result when the Prime Minister launches the much-touted Ayushman Bharat National Health Protection Mission this Independence Day, even the all-important BJP-ruled state of UP will not be in a position to roll out the ambitious scheme meant to provide country-wide health coverage to 10 crore poor people. Rising health expenses, especially out-of-pocket health expenditure, do not just financially ruin marginal households but have adverse repercussions on the nation’s economic health. The government might draw comfort from the progress in some key health indicators such as the maternal mortality rate and malnutrition. But the overall health scenario is far from satisfactory.

Patients are invariably at the receiving end of an un-empathetic healthcare system because of the unviable status of primary healthcare centres, the below-par quality of public healthcare services and spiralling costs at private hospitals. If India has to bulwark its health sector, mere announcements are unlikely to carry it far. Union Health Minister JP Nadda’s promise of a healthier scenario in 2019, as of now, seems as distant a dream as the Universal Health Coverage, which, despite WHO’s backing, seems nowhere close to becoming a reality even by 2022. From upping the health expenditure to better utilisation of resources, the government is duty bound to making quality healthcare both accessible and affordable. As pollution and stress enlarge the list of diseases, the government needs to get its act together. A country that does not invest in human capital can’t hope to reap economic dividends.