Take for instance the roll out of Universal Health Coverage (UHC). The Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Sudip Bandyopadhyay has avowed at the recently concluded 30th Meeting of Ministers of Health, in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, that there will be special focus on key areas in healthcare during the 12th Five Year Plan to accelerate the pace of attainment of Universal Health Care in India. The Indian government is even reportedly considering a new law, aimed at making Right-to-Healthcare (RTH) a reality, to provide affordable and quality healthcare for all.
But no one seems to agree on the exact roadmap towards these goals.
Health activists from organisations like the Jan Swasthya Abhiyan are wary of too much dependence on the private sector. They point out that the recently released draft chapter on health in the 12th Five Year Plan document has raised doubts on the Planning Commission’s promise to consider the recommendations of the High Level Expert Group (HLEG) report, chaired by Dr Srinath Reddy.
The recently concluded FICCI Heal 2012 conference in Delhi, saw the release of yet another report full of suggestions on what should be the roadmap to achieve UHC. FICCI and Ernst & Young’s study titled “Universal health cover for India: Demystifying financing needs” at FICCI Heal 2012, maps out a demand model for healthcare and estimates that UHC in India can be achieved over a period of 10 years with Government health expenditure gradually increasing to 3.7 per cent and further to 4.5 per cent of the GDP. In a Utopian world, this would be achievable but unfortunately, reality bites. India’s GDP may have marginally perked up to 5.5 per cent in Q1FY13 but as a CARE Ratings analysis shows, this is still a poor show, compared to eight per cent for the same period last fiscal. The fear is that a further dip in GDP will also lower the chances of fund allocation, with the Government possibly re-allocating health funds to other fronts. But financing will not a problem if there is political will. Given that policy decisions will be dictated with the 2014 elections in mind, experts urge that the government looks at UHC not just as a health cover but a holistic approach to health, sparking a mindset change to prevention and healthier living practices.
One solution to these uncertainties is better coordination and trust between the public sector, which has the bulk of infrastructure and the private sector, which has plenty of expertise. If the two sides can build partnerships for public purpose (Dr Srinath Reddy’s definition of PPPs), India can achieve these goals faster.
There is no doubt that healthy citizens make a productive workforce while an ailing population is a liability and will only add to the disease burden. Whatever the contours of the UHC, we need to move fast.
Viveka Roychowdhury
Editor