Day for Global Health: Looking back on the history of India

The healthcare system in India is definitely not a simple code to break. There are remote areas where facilities are insufficient to meet the needs of a district, while there are places where technology and infrastructure are sufficient for a state's population.

When we look at how much money was allocated to healthcare in the Union Budget over the past five years, we can't ignore the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic exposed flaws in the system that were easy to hide for a long time.

However, through programs like Ayushman Bharat, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), and the National Health Protection Scheme (NHPS), the government has focused on enhancing primary healthcare facilities, strengthening the public health system, and promoting affordable healthcare for all.

DRAWBACKS OF THE HEALTH BUDGET

Be that as it may, in spite of the expansion in the wellbeing financial plan, there has been no consistency across all states. Compared to the states with a lower disease burden, those with a higher burden, like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh, have received fewer allocations.

As a result, the system needs to be restructured, improved, and invested in more.

However India's medical services framework is broad and various, Vikram Thaploo, Chief, Telehealth, Apollo Emergency clinics Undertaking Restricted, told indiatoday.in that it actually faces a few difficulties, like the lack of medical services experts and deficient foundation.

"High rates of chronic illness and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) account for over 60% of all deaths in India." As a result, Vikram Thaploo stated, "financial incentives should be provided to encourage healthcare professionals to work in underserved areas."

As per the Financial Review 2022-23 introduced in Parliament by Money Pastor Nirmala Sitharaman, the focal and state legislatures use on medical care has expanded essentially.

The planned healthcare spending as a percentage of GDP was 2.1% in FY23, while it was 1.6% in FY21. The increasing significance of public healthcare and social security in ensuring universal health coverage is made clear by the rise in the proportion of health-related expenses to total social service expenditures.

The health budget was Rs 48,878 crore for 2017–18, rising to Rs 61,398 crore for 2018–19 and then INR 67,484 crore for 2019–20. However, the health budget was increased to Rs 94,452 crores in 2020–21 and Rs 74,602 crores in 2021–22 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has received Rs 89,155 crore for the years 2023–24. This is 13% higher than the revised estimates for 2022–23. The Ministry has allocated Rs 86,175 crore, or 97% of the budget, to the Department of Health and Family Welfare.

AREAS GOVT COULD FOCUS ON

However, the government could concentrate on a variety of issues.

Vikram Thaploo says that specific programs should be implemented with a specific timetable to improve healthcare access for people from underrepresented groups like women, poor people, and members of lower castes.

On the other hand, Deepak Sharma, MedLern's CEO and co-founder, stated that the government must initiate a massive nationwide effort to establish more medical schools and research centers.

"For this, the nation's fundamental digital infrastructure must be enhanced and utilized, supported by relevant laws and regulations." At the same time, educational technology startups and cutting-edge businesses that promote continuing medical education (CME), upskilling courses, etc., should be empowered via strategy and monetary upgrade," Deepak Sharma told indiatoday.in.

In this regard, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman took a step forward by announcing the establishment of 157 nursing colleges in the country in the annual budget.

According to Deepak Sharma, the budget could also be used for medical education and training.

He stated, "There could be some explicit policy and tax incentives in the budget for online and specialist medical learning and training providers in the form of a variety of financial and tax subsidies."

SIGNIFICANT STRIDES MADE BY GOVT IN LAST FIVE YEARS

In addition to the drawbacks, the promotion of alternative and traditional forms of medicine has received a lot of attention in the last five years.

In the years 2021 and 2022, the Department of Ayurveda, Yoga, and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) received funding totaling Rs. 1,686 crores. The availability and accessibility of these forms of medicine have increased across the nation as a result.

Delivering healthcare to remote areas and ensuring "last mile coverage" are major obstacles India faces as its healthcare industry is expected to reach $50 billion by 2047.

To defeat this, the public authority put resources into drives like Ayushman Bharat Advanced Mission (ABDM), which gives medical services through telemedicine to the people who are either situated in extremely far off regions or can't venture out because of their age or guess.

Nonetheless, Vikram Thaploo expressed that rising admittance to quality medical care in country regions could assist with tending to cutting edge medical services risk factors.

In addition, there are not enough modern facilities due to a lack of medical equipment. It is challenging to provide high-quality medical care in India because the majority of hospitals lack the necessary equipment.

This is especially true in rural areas, where misdiagnosis and ineffective treatment rates are high due to outdated or substandard medical equipment and facilities.

In the mean time, there have been critical steps made in the medical care framework's association financial plan. The budget has been consistently increased to improve the healthcare sector in order to improve people's access to and quality of care. As part of the national health program, health and wellness centers in both urban and rural areas were expanded in FY22.

The Ayushman Bharat program will provide free health insurance to over 10 crore families in 2020, focusing on economically disadvantaged groups. It covers secondary and tertiary hospitalization for up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year. However, this scheme still requires awareness.

WHAT ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH?

Allocating funds for mental health has been an important function of the union budget. The initial funding for the National Telehealth Program was Rs 121 crore. However, a number of experts call for allocating 20% of the health budget to mental health.

Vikram Thaploo adds, "beneficial for the government to allocate a substantial budget toward preventive healthcare and metabolic diseases, which continue to affect the younger population," in addition to this.

Though there appears to be room for a sustainable healthcare system, the Indian government has implemented successful plans to improve the sector. There are still areas that require a concerted effort to achieve healthy outcomes for citizens, such as increasing funds and concentrating on preventive healthcare as well as medical research.