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India's population in 2021 as per World Bank is 1.39 billion. Being the world's second-most-populous country and one of its fastest-growing economies, India experiences both challenges and opportunities in context of public health. India is a hub for pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries; world-class scientists, clinical trials and hospitals yet country faces daunting public health challenges like child undernutrition, high rates of neonatal and maternal mortality, growth in noncommunicable diseases, high rates of road traffic accidents and other health related issues.
The Ministry of Ayush, a ministry of the Government of India, is responsible for developing education, research and propagation of traditional medicine systems in India. Ayush is a name devised from the names of the alternative healthcare systems covered by the ministry: Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa, and Homeopathy.
A community health extension worker (CHEW) are specially trained professional who provides promotive, preventive, curative And rehabilitative health activities and services to people where they live and work. Community health extension worker are trained in the college of health technologies.community health extension (CHEW) is different from CHW( community health work) required no formal education he is chosen by the community or organizations to provide basic health and medical care within their community, and is capable of providing preventive, promotional and rehabilitation care to that community. Other terms for this type of health care provider include lay health worker, village health worker, community health aide, community health promoter, and health advisor.
The public healthcare system in India evolved due to a number of influences since 1947, including British influence from the colonial period. The need for an efficient and effective public health system in India is large. Public health system across nations is a conglomeration of all organized activities that prevent disease, prolong life and promote health and efficiency of its people. Indian healthcare system has been historically dominated by provisioning of medical care and neglected public health. 11.9% of all maternal deaths and 18% of all infant mortality in the world occurs in India, ranking it the highest in the world. 36.6 out of 1000 children are dead by the time they reach the age of 5. 62% of children are immunized. Communicable disease is the cause of death for 53% of all deaths in India.
Achieving Universal Health Care has been a key goal of the Indian Government since the Constitution was drafted. The Government has since launched several programs and policies to realize ‘Health for All’ in the nation. These measures are in line with the sustainable development goals set by the United Nations. Health disparities generated through the Hindu caste system have been a major roadblock in realizing these goals. The Dalit (untouchables) community occupies the lowest stratum of the Hindu caste system. Historically, they have performed menial jobs like- manual scavenging, skinning animal hide, and sanitation. The Indian constitution officially recognizes the Dalit community as ‘Scheduled Castes’ and bans caste-based discrimination of any form. However, caste and its far-reaching effects are still prominent in several domains including healthcare. Dalits and Adivasis have the lowest healthcare utilization and outcome percentage. Their living conditions and occupations put them at high risk for disease exposure. This, clubbed with discrimination from healthcare workers and lack of awareness makes them the most disadvantaged groups in society.
Tuberculosis in India is a major health problem, causing about 220,000 deaths every year. In 2020, the Indian government made statements to eliminate tuberculosis from the country by 2025 through its National TB Elimination Program. Interventions in this program include major investment in health care, providing supplemental nutrition credit through the Nikshay Poshan Yojana, organizing a national epidemiological survey for tuberculosis, and organizing a national campaign to tie together the Indian government and private health infrastructure for the goal of eliminating the disease.
India has a multi-payer universal health care model that is paid for by a combination of public and private health insurance funds along with the element of almost entirely tax-funded public hospitals. The public hospital system is essentially free for all Indian residents except for small, often symbolic co-payments in some services.
The Academy of Family Physicians of India (AFPI) is a professional academic society, registered as a non-profit organization in India. AFPI has been founded with the aim of promoting family medicine and primary healthcare. Family medicine is the practicing speciality and academic discipline of majority Indian doctors. Although there were GP associations such as IMA CGP and FFPAI have been existing for several decades, there was no forum for spearheading development of academic family medicine in India. AFPI is an equivalent organization to American Academy of Family Physicians, College of Family Physicians of Canada, Royal College of General Practitioners, Royal Australian College of General Practice for India.
Balram Bhargava is an Indian physician scientist, cardiologist, medical educationist, and innovator. He is currently serving as the Chief of Cardiothoracic Centre, AIIMS. He is the former Director General at the Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi and secretary of the Department of Health Research; a division under Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
Sheikh Sama is an Indian gastroenterologist, known for his expertise in endocrinology and diabetology. He is considered by many as the Father of Gastroenterology in India. The discovery of Non-cirrhotic portal fibrosis, an idiopathic chronic liver disease is attributed to him, which he described in a 1962 medical paper, co-authored with Ramalingaswami and Wig. The Government of India awarded him the civilian honour of the Padma Shri in 2004 for his pioneering research on liver diseases including Non-cirrhotic portal fibrosis and Hepatitis B. Sama also received the highest Indian medical honour of Dr. B. C. Roy Award in 2004.
Sex education is a very Controversial and taboo subject in India, and people's opinions about it are quite divided. The states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka have banned or refused to implement sex education in school to preserve culture. The Hindu nationalist government in Madhya Pradesh said sex education had “no place in Indian culture” and plans to introduce yoga in schools instead. For history regarding family planning in India, see Family Planning in India.
Umesh Chandra Chaturvedi was an Indian virologist, immunologist, medical microbiologist, CSIR Emeritus Scientist and a former chairman of the Bharat Immunologicals and Biologicals Corporation. The founder head of the department of microbiology at King George's Medical University, he is known for his studies on Dengue virus infection. Chaturvedi is an elected fellow of all the three major Indian science academies viz. Indian Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Sciences, India and the Indian National Science Academy as well as the Royal College of Pathologists and National Academy of Medical Sciences. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards for his contributions to Medical Sciences in 1981.
Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana(PM-JAY) is a national public health insurance scheme of the Government of India that aims to provide free access to health insurance coverage for low income earners in the country. Roughly, the bottom 50% of the country qualifies for this scheme. People using the program access their own primary care services from a family doctor and when anyone needs additional care, PM-JAY provides free secondary health care for those needing specialist treatment and tertiary health care for those requiring hospitalization.
Vinod Kumar Paul is an Indian pediatrician and physician scientist currently serving as Member, NITI Aayog. He earlier served as professor of neonatology at the Department of Pediatrics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi from 1985 to 2020. He is associated with India's health policy as well as child and maternal health programs.
Neglected tropical diseases in India are a group of bacterial, parasitic, viral, and fungal infections that are common in low income countries but receive little funding to address them. Neglected tropical diseases are common in India.
Vaccination in India includes the use of vaccines in Indian public health and the place of vaccines in Indian society, policy, and research.
Lymphatic filariasis in India refers to the presence of the disease lymphatic filariasis in India and the social response to the disease. In India, 99% of infections come from a type of mosquito spreading a type of worm through a mosquito bite. The treatment plan provides 400 million people in India with medication to eliminate the parasite. About 50 million people in India were carrying the worm as of the early 2010s, which is 40% of all the cases in the world. In collaboration with other countries around the world, India is participating in a global effort to eradicate lymphatic filariasis. If the worm is eliminated from India then the disease could be permanently eradicated. In October 2019 the Union health minister Harsh Vardhan said that India's current plan is on schedule to eradicate filariasis by 2021.
Child development in India is the Indian experience of biological, psychological, and emotional changes which children experience as they grow into adults. Child development has a significant influence on personal health and, at a national level, the health of people in India.
Clinical trials in India refers to clinical research in India in which researchers test drugs and other treatments on research participants. NDCTR 2019 and section 3.7.1 to 3.7.3 of ICMR guidelines requires that all researchers conducting a clinical trial must publicly document it in the Clinical Trials Registry - India.
Indu Bhushan is a former Indian bureaucrat and economist. He was the first CEO of Ayushman Bharat, an Indian government agency providing national healthcare coverage to the low-income population of the country.
References
- ↑ "National health policy: a draft prepared by the Indian Medical Association". Journal of the Indian Medical Association. 72 (6): 144–7. 16 March 1979. PMID 512387.
- ↑ Chokshi, M; Patil, B; Khanna, R; Neogi, SB; Sharma, J; Paul, VK; Zodpey, S (December 2016). "Health systems in India". Journal of Perinatology. 36 (s3): S9–S12. doi:10.1038/jp.2016.184. PMC 5144115 . PMID 27924110.
- ↑ Kothia, NR; Bommireddy, VS; Devaki, T; Vinnakota, NR; Ravoori, S; Sanikommu, S; Pachava, S (26 July 2015). "Assessment of the Status of National Oral Health Policy in India". International Journal of Health Policy and Management. 4 (9): 575–81. doi:10.15171/ijhpm.2015.137. PMC 4556573 . PMID 26340486.
- ↑ Lahariya, C (15 June 2018). "'Ayushman Bharat' Program and Universal Health Coverage in India". Indian Pediatrics. 55 (6): 495–506. doi:10.1007/s13312-018-1341-1. PMID 29978817. S2CID 49706719.