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How Health is Related to the Overall Growth and Development of India?

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A Healthy Country refers to the comprehensive process of a country’s overall growth and development. It serves as a barometer of the country’s health. Scholars generally analyze people’s health by looking at indicators such as newborn and maternal mortality rates, life expectancy, and nutrition levels, as well as the prevalence of communicable and non-communicable diseases.

The development of health infrastructure guarantees that a country’s workforce is fit to produce commodities and services. The government is responsible for ensuring the right to a healthy lifestyle. Hospitals, doctors, nurses, and other paramedical workers, beds, hospital equipment, and a well-developed pharmaceutical sector are all part of the health infrastructure. It’s also true that having health infrastructure isn’t enough to produce healthy people; the infrastructure should be available to everyone.

Since independence, there has been a major increase in the physical provision of health services as well as improvements in health indicators, but this is insufficient to meet India’s quickly growing population. Medical experts, organizations, and ancillary health care workers give medical care to individuals in need through health services. Health care benefits patients, families, communities, and populations alike. These services are aimed at making health care more accessible, high-quality, and patient-centered. Several types of care and providers are required to give successful health services.

Health-Care Services of India  

A three-tiered system governs India’s health infrastructure and healthcare.

1. Primary Healthcare

  • Education about current health issues and ways for diagnosing, preventing, and managing them.
  • Promotion of food security and proper nutrition, as well as adequate water and sanitation.
  • Health takes care of moms and children.
  • Immunization against the most common infectious diseases as well as traumas.
  • Promotion of fitness and distribution of existence-saving medications.

2. Secondary Healthcare

Patients are sent to secondary or tertiary hospitals if their condition cannot be handled by PHCs. Secondary healthcare establishments are those that have better surgical, X-ray, and ECG (Electro Cardio Gram) facilities. They serve as primary health care providers as well as providing improved health care facilities. They are mostly seen at district and headquarters offices in major cities.

3. Tertiary Healthcare

There are hospitals in the tertiary sector that have advanced level equipment and medicines and handle all the complicated health problems that primary and secondary hospitals cannot handle. This industry also comprises some prestigious institutions that provide not just high-quality medical education and research but also specialized health care.

Some of the Major Factors: 

1. Primary Health Center:  

Education about current health problems and ways for diagnosing, preventing, and controlling them is also part of primary health care, promotion of food supply and proper nutrition and adequate water and sanitation, maternal and child health care, immunization against major infectious illnesses and injuries, mental health promotion, and the provision of needed pharmaceuticals are all priorities. There has been a tremendous increase in the physical supply of health services since independence. The number of hospitals and dispensaries expanded from 9300 to 43300 between 1995 and 2000, while hospital beds climbed from 1.2 to 7.2 million. The number of nurses climbed from 0.18 to 8.4 lakhs between 1951 and 1999, whereas the number of allocation doctors increased from 0.62 to 5.0 lakhs. The education of smallpox, guinea worms, and the near-eradication of polio and leprosy has resulted from the expansion of health infrastructure.

2. Public Health System:

The act of protecting the public’s health through education, research and development, and the promotion of a healthy lifestyle is referred to as public health. Its goal is to improve people’s lives and well-being all across the world. Rather than focusing on individual health, it focuses on the protection and improvement of the health of the entire population. In recent years, India has started on a massive infrastructure construction project. A variety of hospitals known as Primary Health Centers were established at the local level (PHCs). A huge number of hospitals are run by various non-profit organizations as well as the business sector. Professionals and paramedical professionals trained in medical, pharmacy, and nursing universities oversee the hospitals. The availability of health care has increased significantly. The number of hospitals and dispensaries climbed from 9300 to 43300 between 1951 and 2000, while the number of hospital beds increased from 1.2 to 7.2 million. During the same time, nursing personnel increased from 0.18 to 8.7 lakh, while allopathic doctors increased from 0.62 to 5 lakh. Smallpox, polio, leprosy, and other terrible illnesses have all been eradicated thanks to the availability of various facilities.

3. Women’s Status

Since 1961, India’s populace has greater than doubled. Despite the fact that India has been a pioneer in the development of health and population policy, severe implementation issues have arisen owing to poverty, gender inequality, and illiteracy. Only 39.3 percent of Indian women were literate in 1991, according to census 2011, it is currently 70.3%. Women’s literacy levels have an impact on reproductive behavior, contraceptive usage, child health and parenting, correct hygiene practices, employment access, and women’s general position in society. Early marriage and childbearing were key determinants of women’s health, as well as a contributing factor in India’s socio-economic underdevelopment. In India, women are responsible for 70-80 percent of all healthcare services. Female healthcare practitioners may play a critical role in teaching society about the need of recognizing one’s own health and nutritional needs. For India’s health and nutrition framework to develop, women professionals and empowerment at all levels are essential.

4. Indian System of Medical:

India also archive popularity in the health sector by Allopathy, Homoeopathy, Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, Yoga, as well as Naturopathy. In 1995, the Department of Health and Family Welfare starts the Department of Indian Medicine and Homeopathy (ISM & H) with the objective of optimal and focused development of these sectors. These types of treatment are effective, safe, and economical, ISM & H has enormous potential and can solve a major part of our healthcare crisis. There are 3529 ISM hospitals, 24943 dispensaries, and 6.5 lakh registered practitioners in India at this moment.

5. World-class medical facilities:

Foreigners are increasingly flocking to India for operations, liver transplants, dental procedures, and even cosmetic procedures. This is because our health services combine cutting-edge medical technology with qualified professionals and are less expensive for foreigners than similar health care services in their home countries. In 2019-20, 697,453 foreign tourists came to India for medical treatment, and this figure is predicted to climb by 15% each year. 

Conclusion:

A well-functioning health system is essential for illness prevention. The ultimate goal should be to assist people in achieving a higher standard of living. Human well-being, both physical and mental, is measured by health. Since, independence, there has been a major increase in the physical provision of health services as well as improvements in health indicators. But, still, for the vast majority of the people, the public health system and facilities are insufficient. There is a significant disparity in the use of health care facilities between rural and urban areas, as well as between the rich and the poor. With reports of increased incidences of female feticide and mortality across the country, women’s health has become a major concern. To enhance public health, natural systems of medicine must be investigated and used.


Last Updated : 08 Feb, 2023
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