63 million Indians are in debt due to healthcare expenditure: Report -Governance Now

63 million Indians are in debt due to healthcare expenditure: Report

Almost 80 percent doctors are in urban areas serving only 28 percent of population

GN Bureau | August 20, 2016

#expenditure #healthcare #debt

Nearly 63 million people of India are in debt due to health care expenses and a third of the population is driven below poverty line due to the same. The government funds only a third of health expenditure. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) spent on healthcare (4.1 percent) is the lowest among BRICs countries.

These are some of shocking revelations in the report on health care access initiatives released by KPMG and OPPI.

The report also says that 80 percent of doctors are in the urban areas serving only 28 percent of the population. In rural India, only 37 per cent of people have access to In-Patient Department (IPD) facilities within a 5 km distance; and only 68 per cent have access to an Out-Patient Department (OPD).

India spends less on healthcare than most other middle incomecountries. The total healthcare expenditure as a percentage of GDP is about 4.1 percent, which is among the lowest in the world.

“While communicable diseases such as malaria, AIDS continue to be a challenge, the growing burden of NCDs, such as cardiovascular and diabetes can no longer be ignored. Today, NCDs, account for more than 60 percent of all deaths, and pose a potential financial burden of USD 5 trillion by 2030,” it says.

Other highlights mentioned in report:

75 percent of dispensaries and 60 percent of hospitals are in the urban areas

India has lowest number of physicians per 10,000 population among BRICs nations

Number of hospital beds per 1,000 population of 0.9, lowest among BRICs nations.

Life expectancy (68 years in 2015) one of the lowest among Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC).

Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) of 38/1,000 live births and Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) of 174/ 100,000 live births in 2015, highest among peer group.

Read full report

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