Healthcare equity in urban India
- November 22, 2021
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
No Comments
Healthcare equity in urban India
Subject – Governance
Context – Life expectancy lower for urban poor, says study
Concept –
- Life expectancy among the poorest is lower by 9.1 years among men and 6.2 years among women from the corresponding figures for the richest in urban areas, noted a report released recently by Azim Premji University in collaboration with 17 regional NGOs across India.
- The report, “Healthcare equity in urban India”, explores health vulnerabilities and inequalities in cities in India.
- It also looks at the availability, accessibility and cost of healthcare facilities, and possibilities in future-proofing services in the next decade.
- It notes that a third of India’s population lives in urban areas, with this segment seeing a rapid growth from about 18% (1960) to 28.53% (2001) and 34% (in 2019). Close to 30% of people living in urban areas are poor.
- The report, besides finding disproportionate disease burden on the poor, also points to a chaotic urban health governance, where the multiplicity of healthcare providers both within and outside the Government without coordination are challenges to urban health governance.
- The other key findings include a heavy financial burden on the poor, and less investment in healthcare by urban local bodies.