Healthcare for All

It is well recognized that improvement in health status of population is both an important means of sustaining economic and social development as well as an end in itself. While India has made rapid strides in the health sector since independence, data from NFHS-5 indicates that access to healthcare still remains a challenge.

Nearly 72% of the population in India still lives in rural areas and has access to about 25% of the healthcare infrastructure. Urban slum dwellers, on the other hand, suffer from adverse health conditions owing to mainly two reasons –first the lack of awareness; and second the unwillingness to lose a day’s wage in order to reach the nearest medical facility.

The sheer vastness and geo-spatial diversity of the country also make it difficult to meet the healthcare needs of the entire population. With the pandemic further highlighting the need to strengthen the healthcare system, it has become imperative to shift focus on last mile delivery to rural areas, universal health coverage, public health, and preventive healthcare.