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After years of door-to-door visits and campaigns to protect the country’s children against polio, India started 2012 on the promising note of completing a polio-free year.
But the cheer over effective polio management was soon over-shadowed by other health concerns, as totally-resistant tuberculosis got reported in the country. And as the year progressed, infectious diseases like dengue and malaria further took their toll on the health of the nation.
Though much ground needs to still be covered in healthcare, 2012 did take some remarkable strides in putting on the drawing board plans for better healthcare delivery across the country – universal healthcare coverage, programmes to provide free medicines and efforts to look after the urban poor.
There were also high-profile announcements to increase Government spending on healthcare to about three per cent of GDP.
The momentum from some of these developments have slowed down since the announcement earlier this year, but the year ahead holds the promise of follow-through of these initiatives by the Government and healthcare workers.
Promises to keep
It is a mixed bag, says Dr Amit Sengupta of the Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, on the direction these health-oriented discussions would take in 2013. Concerns still abound on why the Government’s spending on health, for instance, has not gone up to the promised 2-3 per cent of GDP. Or whether there will be more private participation in the universal health coverage that the Government promises?
While these concerns are valid, Dr Srinath Reddy, President of Public Health Foundation of India, points out, that health has for the first time caught the attention of policy makers in the manner that it should.
Healthcare has got greater traction in the 12th Plan. And though it may not be at the pace pro-health groups may want, it is a start, he says. The models to provide universal health coverage can be deliberated once the political will is there to bring it in.
The idea now is to ensure that public health infrastructure is not left behind in these programmes and that they are, instead, strengthened as healthcare delivery points, he observes.
No time for neglect
The incidents of malaria, dengue and other vector-borne diseases arise from weak public health infrastructure, he points out, adding “this neglect of public health cannot continue.”
Which is why the Government’s increased health spending holds much promise – because an increased spend on water and nutrition will have a good effect on health too, he observes.
Other developments that could have a positive bearing on health, are the slew of patent-related judgments where the Courts have been seen to be taking decisions keeping in mind the health of people in the country, observes Sengupta.
But the country’s health regulatory infrastructure still needs much attention, as science and the pharmaceutical industry leap forward.
A stinging Parliamentary standing committee report earlier this year had put the spotlight on what ails the Drug Controller General of India’s office.
More than ever, the regulator’s office needs more resources and training to keep pace with changes in science.
The regulatory environment notwithstanding, another interesting development, but in the private healthcare arena was the proliferation of smaller and niche healthcare networks, and online support for patients and consumers.
But the huge shadow over the growing healthcare needs of the country – are the shortages in trained medical professionals and support staff.
In fact, a recent study by consultants Technopak Advisors said that the country had a healthcare crisis on its hands.
The availability, in absolute terms, of hospital-beds, doctors and nurses already shows the country needs to increase its numbers, Technopak Chairman Arvind Singhal had then said, adding that even if the Government doubled the number of medical seats, it would take about nine years to have a complete doctor working in the system.
The health landscape in the country is uneven, from the profile of the disease to that of the population.
From lifestyle ailments like hypertension and diabetes to infectious diseases or cancer, to mention just a few, spread across the uber-rich and the very poor.
This means, there is no more time left for discussions and policy-makers will have to march ahead with implementing healthcare initiatives started this year, and at a greater pace.
The year 2013 will bear witness to whether administrators do rise to the occasion and keep the promises they have made to the people.
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