India’s health sector is diverse and includes not just modern medicine but also a range of traditional systems like Homeopathy, Ayurveda, Unani. The overall government expenditure on health is rather low at around 1.2 percent of GDP. Communicable diseases continue to be a major public health problem in India. There is also a rising incidence of non communicable diseases, old age diseases and mental health. There is near consensus among experts that the health sector in India is plagued by acute inequity in the form of unequal access to basic health care across regions, inadequate availability of health services and acute shortage of skilled man power. Most of the issues pertaining to public health have been acknowledged by the policy
makers and have influenced the formulation process of the 12th Five Year Plan. The Approach Paper recognises the need to provide comprehensive health care with greater emphasis on communicable diseases and preventive health care, need for upgradation of rural health care services with districts as units for planning, training and service provisioning and also the need for capital investment and bridging crucial and severe human resources gaps.
The High Level Expert Group on Universal Health Care constituted by the Planning Commission has
recommended that public expenditure on health should be increased from the current level of 1.1 percent of GDP
to at least 2.5 percent by the end of 12th Plan and to at least 3 percent of GDP by 2022. Other recommendations are
the universal entitlement to comprehensive health security; ensuring availability of free medicines by increasing
public spending on drug procurement; emphasis on public health investment and addressing the problem of
human resources and establishment of more medical colleges and nursing schools.
Over the years, there has been significant progress in improving life expectancy at birth, reducing mortality
due to communicable diseases as well as reducing infant and maternal mortality. One of the major achievements
is non-reporting of polio cases from any part of the country for more than 12 months. This is an endorsement
of the effectiveness of the polio eradication strategies and their implementation in India. The NRHM launched
in April 2005 was started with the stated objective to make health care universal, equitable and affordable in
rural areas. The Mission was a policy response to the unequal development of health care across states and
reflected the need of the centre to play a more proactive role in setting standards in public health provisioning
and shaping state health systems to achieving the goals. Health care services to address the needs of the urban
poor by making available essential primary health care services is also an area that requires attention.
Social and family health issues such as malnutrition of women and children, declining child sex ratio, adolescent
health, care of older persons however continue to be areas of concern requiring immediate intervention.
Nutrition constitutes the foundation for human development and government has accorded the highest
priority to combating malnutrition. The key issues are in preventing and reducing maternal and child undernutrition
as early as possible. To address the multi dimensional nutritional challenges being faced in the country
comprehensive multi sectoral interventions and redesigned institutional arrangements are needed. The need of
the hour is to review the linkages between economic growth, poverty, dietary intake and nutritional status.
This issue of Yojana deals with all these concerns and authors have outlined the challenges and the path that
needs to be traversed to achieve India’s goals of health care for all.
makers and have influenced the formulation process of the 12th Five Year Plan. The Approach Paper recognises the need to provide comprehensive health care with greater emphasis on communicable diseases and preventive health care, need for upgradation of rural health care services with districts as units for planning, training and service provisioning and also the need for capital investment and bridging crucial and severe human resources gaps.
The High Level Expert Group on Universal Health Care constituted by the Planning Commission has
recommended that public expenditure on health should be increased from the current level of 1.1 percent of GDP
to at least 2.5 percent by the end of 12th Plan and to at least 3 percent of GDP by 2022. Other recommendations are
the universal entitlement to comprehensive health security; ensuring availability of free medicines by increasing
public spending on drug procurement; emphasis on public health investment and addressing the problem of
human resources and establishment of more medical colleges and nursing schools.
Over the years, there has been significant progress in improving life expectancy at birth, reducing mortality
due to communicable diseases as well as reducing infant and maternal mortality. One of the major achievements
is non-reporting of polio cases from any part of the country for more than 12 months. This is an endorsement
of the effectiveness of the polio eradication strategies and their implementation in India. The NRHM launched
in April 2005 was started with the stated objective to make health care universal, equitable and affordable in
rural areas. The Mission was a policy response to the unequal development of health care across states and
reflected the need of the centre to play a more proactive role in setting standards in public health provisioning
and shaping state health systems to achieving the goals. Health care services to address the needs of the urban
poor by making available essential primary health care services is also an area that requires attention.
Social and family health issues such as malnutrition of women and children, declining child sex ratio, adolescent
health, care of older persons however continue to be areas of concern requiring immediate intervention.
Nutrition constitutes the foundation for human development and government has accorded the highest
priority to combating malnutrition. The key issues are in preventing and reducing maternal and child undernutrition
as early as possible. To address the multi dimensional nutritional challenges being faced in the country
comprehensive multi sectoral interventions and redesigned institutional arrangements are needed. The need of
the hour is to review the linkages between economic growth, poverty, dietary intake and nutritional status.
This issue of Yojana deals with all these concerns and authors have outlined the challenges and the path that
needs to be traversed to achieve India’s goals of health care for all.
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