India’s health : Then and Now

The country celebrated its 69th Independence Day last week. It is therefore a good time to look back on how India’s health has fared over this period. In numerical figures, we have covered some ground, but like the proverbial glass, optimists see it as half full, while pessimists view it as half empty.
The average Indian who expected to live till 32 years of age in 1950, is living twice as long now. Fewer children are dying in their first year of life (Infant mortality rate) and less mothers are dying of childbirth.
The national figures are however a mixed bag – some states and sections of society have done almost as well as developed countries, while some have lagged behind close to where we were half a century ago, dragging down our national figures.
The reduction and control of diseases mentioned above owe much of their success to several government initiatives as well as non-governmental organisations.
The major challenge of India is the dual fight of a ‘developing’ country’s basic health concerns such as malnutrition, low immunisation rates, hygiene, sanitation, and infectious disease while on one hand, while tackling environmental pollution and lifestyle choices such as alcohol consumption, smoking, and high fat diet are set to increase the incidence rates of heart diseases, strokes, diabetes and cancers, on the other.
Health and education are two sectors where results show up late. Unfortunately most governments have focussed on short term solutions like industrialisation, trade and defence, allocating less than 2% of spending on health (compare with 9 to 10% in developed countries).
While elections are decided by recent perceptions, we need leaders with far-sightedness to bring back the focus on health and education.
Here is a summary chart for those who like facts and figures;
1.Life Expectancy: Increased from 32 years in 1947 to 65 years in 2011, BUT we are nearly 15 years less than western countries.
2. New-born Mortality: Reduced to 37/1000 births in 2008, BUT still approximately 10 times more than western countries.
3. Child Mortality (0-5yrs): Reduced to 63/1000 in 2010 BUT still about 10 times more than western countries.
3.Almost 67% children are still not fully immunsed.
4. Maternal Mortality: Reduced to 254/lakh births in 2008 from 677/lakh births in 1980, BUT still almost 15-50 times more than western countries. (nearly 70,000 deaths per year)
5. Malnutrition In children under 5years: Reduced to 44% in 2006 from 67% in 1979, BUT still nearly 20 times more than western countries (Approximately 50% children under three are underweight)
6. Polio Eradicated almost completely: 1 new case recorded in 2011.
7. Leprosy: Eliminated in 32 States/UTs i.e. <1 1.27="" 2011-12.="" but="" case="" cases="" in="" lakh="" new="" p="" people="" reported="">8. Small Pox: Eradicated in 1977
9. Cholera: Reduced to 1939 new cases/year in 2006 from 2768 new cases/year in 1997. Sanitation and clean water are essential for total elimination