Affordable health care solutions for rural India

Abstract

India’s healthcare system is characterized by a huge gap between demand and supply. The World Health Organization (WHO) ranks India very low on almost all parameters of a healthcare system. India ranks 190 among 191 countries on public expenditure for healthcare limited to 3.9% of its GDP and a 17% share of government share on overall healthcare expenditure. India has six doctors for every 10,000 people as compared to the WHO norm for a minimum of 10 doctors for 10,000 people. Although 45,000 doctors and specialists graduate from medical colleges every year, there is a current shortfall of over 400,000 doctors to meet the healthcare needs of India’s 1.2 billion people. This gap is more acute in rural India which is home to 70% Indians. The problem is exacerbated as poverty levels are high in rural areas and the public healthcare is scarce in most of India’s more than 600,000 villages. In 2010-11, only 23,887 primary health centers (PHC) were operational. These are single-physician clinics usually with facilities for minor surgeries. The PHCs are the basic units of the public funded healthcare system where a patient can consult with a physician. Read more at: https://magazin.hsgfocus.ch/hsg-focus-2-2014/artikel/affordable-health-care-solutions-for-rural-india-5572