Significant Progress in Public Health

Quick Summary

• Life Expectancy Growth: india’s life expectancy at birth improved from 32 years in 1947 to 72 years in 2023, nearing the global average of 73.4.
• Health Metrics (1947): Infant mortality rate was 145.6 per 1,000 live births; maternal mortality was approximately 2,000 per lakh live births; only about 50,000 doctors and fewer than a thousand primary healthcare centers existed nationwide.
• Major Health Challenges Post-Independence: Widespread infectious diseases like malaria, tuberculosis, cholera, and smallpox dominated health concerns alongside high maternal and infant mortality rates.
• Early Policy Foundations:

– The Bhore Committee Report (1946) established a healthcare framework emphasizing worldwide access through Primary Health Centers (PHCs).
– National-level programmes were launched for diseases like malaria and tuberculosis with immunization drives leading to landmark achievements – smallpox eradication (1980) and polio elimination (2014).

• Improvements:

– Currently IMR is at ~26 per thousand live births compared to ~161 in 1947.
– MMR reduced significantly to around ~103 per lakh live births from over ~2,000.

• Private Sector Impact Post-Liberalization (1990s): Enabled growth in medical services delivery but raised concerns over affordability due to increased out-of-pocket expenses. Boosted India as a hub for medical tourism and supported pharmaceutical industry expansion globally.

• Rural healthcare Improvements:

– Introduction of ASHA workers under the National Rural Health Mission (2005), focused on door-to-door healthcare delivery in villages.

• Current Challenges & Trends:

– Rising prevalence of noncommunicable diseases including diabetes and hypertension due to lifestyle changes adds strain even as efforts continue against infectious disease outbreaks such as tuberculosis.
– Urban centers lead progress while rural areas lag behind in access to quality care despite efforts.

Indian Opinion Analysis

India’s evolving healthcare system showcases ample milestones achieved over decades – from combating deadly infections post-independence with state-led initiatives like PHCs or mass immunizations campaigns for smallpox/polio eradication – upending earlier dire metrics into incremental successes seen today across life expectancy & infant/maternal survival outcomes today.. Yet regional inequalities trappings persist!, Globally too expanding moves spans demographics! Source continues rightful arguing