SHARE YOUR STORY: JEFF BINOY

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What does medicine mean to us? Here in the Western hemisphere, healthcare and medicine are readily available commodities. Not so in other parts of the world. We all know peripherally that many third world countries still suffer from a lack of many essentials that help to keep us alive. These essentials could be anything ranging from food and water to access to health care. While at the turn of the century, many efforts and acts were passed by the UN and other organizations to help with the issues of world hunger and poverty, health inequality and access to quality care remains a prevalent issue.

Although there remains to some-extent concerns about food and homelessness in western countries, healthcare, or rather getting medical attention is relatively easy. Not so in many third world countries.

As an Indian myself, from observing the suffering of many first hand, but more so hearing experiences about millions in rural villages that lack basic medical help, I understood that a lack of healthcare and proper medication was still a major issue in India. Being the second biggest population in the world means that this issue is one that affects the lives of million of people. First, it is important to examine the main causes of the medical dilemma in India. Two of the main factors that debilitate the healthcare system in India is availability of health-care resources, and secondly the affordability of those commodities.

While many urbanized parts of India now boast quality healthcare and adequate medical resources, there are still many in rural areas, deep within the villages, scattered around the country, that lack the very basics of healthcare. Raw statistics unfold the unfortunate truths of healthcare in India. About 75% of all dispensaries, 80% of doctor and 60% of all hospitals in India are situated in urban areas. The problem? Only 28% of India’s population live in urbanized areas (Geography and you, 2018). And with the majority of the Indian population living in rural areas (where disease levels are much higher than in the suburbs), only about 37% of that population have access to in-patient facilities within 5 km of their houses (Kasthuri, 2018). The fact that there are only about 1 million qualified doctors for the 1.3 billion Indians is also concerning (Geography and you, 2018). As sad as it is, due to a lack of housing, clean water or even proper clothing, the poor and marginalized populations, particularly children, adolescents, and older people, among others, are more likely to suffer than the wealthy when afflicted by the same health conditions.

Affordability is another cause of concern with the Indian Health-care system. A 2016 survey confirmed that India had one of the highest numbers of privatized heath-care system. The increase of these private health care facilities, and the subsequent decrease of government-funded public heath sectors means that the patients now have to pay more out of their own pockets. In many first-world countries, health-care for the most part is funded and much of the population is insured. In India 86% of rural population and 82% of urban population are not covered under any scheme of health expenditure support (Rao, 2018). Thus about 55 million Indians were dragged into poverty in a single year due to patient-care costs, according to a study by the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI). Another survey by the India Infrastructure Report outlines again the depth of financial burden caused by the health-care system on the poorest Indians. The lack of health-insurance (especially for those in rural areas below the poverty line) causes them to spend sometimes most of their earnings on health associated bills. The survey shows those in the lowest financial quintile in inner rural areas spend about 30% of their monthly income on morbid illnesses, and other short- and long-term health issues (Barik & Desai,2014). This is truly disheartening considering most of them do not even have enough for proper nourishment or any left-over money to enroll their kids in schools.

What can we do to help?
Even with the recent emergences of more qualified physicians, India still is in dire need of medical staff and essentially many hospitals still do not have adequate medical teams to assist in patient care. Organization like Global Crossroad are thus actively promoting and seeking interested medical volunteers to travel abroad and help out in India. However, the most effective way to help out with the health-care crisis in India is likely through the many accredited non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Donations through these NGOs provide patients in need with essential medications, proper diagnosis and acute care if necessary. These NGOs also work on employing doctors to deploy them in rural areas, commonly as part of medical camps. Some of the NGOs that have revolutionized healthcare in India are, Rural Health Care foundation, HelpAge India and the Smile Foundation. More great NGOs that help out with the needs in India can be found here: https://blog.giveindia.org/healthcare/10-ngos-which-have-revolutionised-healthcare-in-india/ 

There was a recent report of hope from the WHO, where they confirmed that India now has 1.34 doctors to serve 1000 Indian citizens, thus meeting the WHO recommendation for doctor-patient ratio (Kumar & Pal, 2018). However, as evident there is a long way to go before most Indians receive quality health-care that does not push them into poverty.
As we all enjoy lives of relative ease, in regards to basic necessities, let us remember all those around the world, that in form look just like each of us, yet are denied basic medical necessities. It is up to us then to find ways, however small, to provide them with the gift of proper health-care! Remember always, proper health-care is not a luxury, but rather an inborn right of every one of the 7.68 billion humans that inhabit our planet.

References:
Kasthuri, A. (2018). Challenges to healthcare in India - the FIVE A'S. Retrieved February 14, 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6166510/
Researcher, S., Kumar, A., & Geography and You. (2018, October 04). Access to healthcare in India. Retrieved February 14, 2021, from https://geographyandyou.com/access-to-healthcare-in-india/
Rao, N. (2018, April 14). Who is paying for India's healthcare? Retrieved February 14, 2021, from https://thewire.in/health/who-is-paying-for-indias-healthcare
Sharma, A. (2020, January 14). Indian healthcare: The needs and demands. Retrieved February 14, 2021, from https://www.expresshealthcare.in/public-health/indian-healthcare-the-needs-and-demands/416037/
Barik, D., & Thorat, A. (2015, October 27). Issues of unequal access to public health in India. Retrieved February 14, 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4621381/
Kumar, R., & Pal, R. (2018). India achieves who recommended doctor POPULATION ratio: A call for paradigm shift in public Health discourse! Retrieved February 14, 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6259525/#:~:text=So%2C%20the%20ratio%20is%201.34,estimates%20including%20stringent%20attrition%20criteria

Written by: Jeff Binoy (Events Committee)
Edited by: Victoria Lun (Vice President of Communications)