73 per cent of citizens from northeast India travel to other states for better medical care: Report

This pan-India survey by the Development Intelligence Unit (DIU) offers a comprehensive view of India’s rural healthcare delivery

73 per cent of Indians suffering from non-communicable diseases from the northeastern states of India migrate to other states for treatments, according to a pan-India report titled ‘State of Healthcare in Rural India – 2023’. The report, conducted by the Development Intelligence Unit (DIU), a collaboration between Transform Rural India and Sambodhi Research Pvt. Ltd., was released on 1st August 2023 at the India Rural Colloquy – A Rural Renaissance in Delhi. The report offers a comprehensive overview of the current healthcare scenario in rural areas and gives valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities for transforming rural healthcare delivery. Conducted with a sample size of 6,478 respondents across 20 states, the survey represents a diverse range of rural communities across India.

Over the past decade, India has gained a reputation for providing high-quality medical services at low costs to medical tourists travelling from across the globe, with the country’s health and wellness industry booming under government’s increased focus. However, while services for international medical professionals have gained momentum, ‘Domestic Medical Tourism’ has been overlooked. This is evident from the significant 63 per cent of Indians with family members suffering from NCD (non-communicable diseases) choosing to migrate to states outside of theirs to access better healthcare services. 73 per cent in the north-east itself travel for treatments of NCD (non-communicable diseases). This statistic is at 60 per cent for people in the northern states of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Punjab 44 per cent in central India’s states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh, 29 per cent, 28 per cent, & 27 per cent in the West, South, East, respectively.

Shyamal Santra, Associate Director of Public Health and Nutrition at Transform Rural India, said, “Echoing the experiences and expectations shared by the people living in Rural India, it is evident that there are no alternatives to improved, modernised and transformed healthcare services at primary level with a specific focus on under-developed regions to improve patient satisfaction and reducing the need of long-distance travel for treatment. The compulsion of travel in the quest for quality medical treatment adds emotional and financial stress to the patients and their families. By adopting a ‘whole of system, whole of society’ approach to offer ‘state of the art’ infrastructure and quality services locally, we can alleviate the burden on patients and make healthcare more inclusive and equitable across the country. Simultaneously careful attention is required on trust-building efforts within local healthcare eco-systems (bringing innovations, start-ups, public, private, etc) and communities to create a conducive environment for patients to access comprehensive care services within locality.”

This report was launched at the India Rural Colloquy 2023 in Delhi, an event that features well over 100 thought leaders – in development, culture, business, and beyond – in over two dozen conversations in four Indian cities. The aim is to bring people together in hopes of finding actionable solutions to the challenges facing rural India, in an unusual event in that includes on-the-ground voices from those at the sharp end of rural development.