[Yojana March 2023 Summary] India’s post-pandemic healthcare system – Explained, pointwise

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has made healthcare very important in India. The government wants to use money and resources to enhance India’s post-pandemic healthcare system. The budget for 2023–24 has some ideas to make things better. But it might not be enough. 

What is the Budget proposal for India’s post-pandemic healthcare system?  

Budget Proposal for Post-Pandemic healthcare system in India are:  

Mission to Eliminate Sickle Cell Disease by 2047: The government has announced a new mission to eradicate Sickle Cell Disease, a genetic condition that is prevalent in tribal populations in India. The mission aims to identify and treat the disease early to improve the health of affected individuals.  

Opening of New Nursing Colleges and Multidisciplinary Courses for Medical Devices: To address the shortage of healthcare professionals, the budget has proposed opening 157 new nursing colleges in districts where medical colleges have been recently established. Additionally, dedicated multidisciplinary courses for medical devices will be introduced.  

Emphasis on Health Research: The government aims to promote health research by opening up ICMR labs for research by public and private medical college faculty. The private sector is also encouraged to collaborate with the government for research and innovation in the pharmaceutical industry.  

Other Proposals: a) The budget also proposes the establishment of centers of excellence in Artificial Intelligence (AI) with health as one of the core sub-themes, b) The Aspirational Blocks Programme will cover 500 blocks for the saturation of essential government services, including health sub-components and c) The National Calamity Contingency duty (NCCD) on cigarettes has been increased by 16% to discourage smoking.  

Financial Allocation: The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has received a nominal increase of around 3.5% in financial allocation from BE 2022-23. The allocation for the National Health Mission has remained nearly unchanged at around Rs 29,000 Cr. The allocation for Ayushman Bharat- Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana has increased by 13% to reach around Rs 7,200 Cr.  

What are the challenges faced by the post-pandemic healthcare system in India?

These include,

-The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that disinformation is a health sector issue. Misinformation has caused vaccine reluctance and rejection and decreased immunisation coverage in various populations.

-COVID-19 reminded that immunisation is important not only for children but also for adolescents and adults.

-In India, health is a state matter, although there are several government programmes and schemes that address various aspects of public health. After seventy-five years of independence, it is time to reconsider the role of federalism in health policy. 

-The total number of doctors might be enough, but 90% work in the private sector and only 10% work in the public sector. These things affect the government sector’s ability to provide health services. It is not enough to have skilled doctors.

What should be the priorities of the government for India’s post-pandemic healthcare system?  

India’s post-pandemic healthcare should focus on the following,

Effective, timely and science-based communication is integral to health services: Government health initiatives must include timely, evidence-based, and reliable communication. Provide real-time mechanisms to debunk health misconceptions. Continuous interventions would assure great coverage.  

Vaccination is not only for children: Other vaccines, such as hepatitis-B, meningococcal, and pneumococcal, can prevent adult illnesses. For vulnerable adult populations, these are useful. The government prioritises and vaccinates at-risk adults in 2023.

India has developed a low-cost HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) vaccination to prevent adolescents against cervical cancer and other diseases. It’s time for India to offer this vaccine through a government plan and cover all eligible populations.  

Importance of Well-functioning primary health care services (PHC): Covid-19 has emphasised the importance of stronger health services and well-functioning primary health care services (PHC). The PHC services should be built around the people, where it is not just the treatment of disease but attention is on preventive and promotive services as well. 

 Considered ‘neglected tropical diseases’: India has 11 “neglected tropical diseases” such as filariasis, kala-azar, snake bites, and others that need policy and programmatic attention. Programmatic interventions, vaccinations, and medicinal research focused on public health interventions are needed to combat these diseases.  

Improve the health data quality and availability: Covid-19 pandemic has also taught us the importance of timely, granular and accurate health data. Such data is useful for health decision-making and for dispelling myths and rumours.  

Bring health issues to the fore globally: India has been elected to the G20 chairmanship for the year 2023. The G20 presidency provides a chance for India to bring global health issues to the forefront. In particular, the country must take the lead in drawing attention to and maintaining it on the challenge of “antimicrobial resistance,” the coordinated global response to epidemics and pandemics, neglected tropical diseases, and a focus on “one health” (the health of humans, animals, and the environment are all interconnected). The G20 nations should adopt such coordinated actions to avoid future vaccine disparities, as seen in the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Move towards stronger health systems: It is time to move towards stronger health systems, building upon the Ayushman Bharat Programme, and health and wellness centers initiative. These platforms should be used to strengthen school health services, augment the provision of post and long Covid services and enhance community engagement in health.  

Strengthen Cooperative federalism in the matter of public health: It is time to consider how cooperative federalism might be reinforced in the field of public health. The recently established public health management cadre must also be implemented in all Indian states.  

Ensure equitable distribution of the health workforce: In the time after a pandemic, the availability and fair distribution of health workers must be a top priority. Incentive-based systems should be investigated to promote equal distribution of the health workforce.  

Strengthen India’s disease surveillance system and public health testing capacity: Disease surveillance systems and public health initiatives must be maintained. After the COVID-19 pandemic, India has taken some real steps to improve its disease surveillance system and its ability to test for public health problems. Because of some of these efforts, many new viruses, like monkeypox, were found early on in Indian states. But it is still hard for the government to collect, analyse, share, and use data about diseases. This needs to change quickly.  

Tackle anaemia and bridge the gaps in other nutrition policies: Malnutrition and anemia in women and children continue to be challenging. The National Family Health Survey -5 (NFHS-5) shows that despite decades of implementation of a range of schemes for women and children, malnutrition and anemia rates remain high, and the rate of improvement is very low. It demands urgent interventions to revive the efforts to tackle anemia and bridge the gaps in other nutrition policies.  

Improve mental health services: Two urgent health problems that need to be fixed right away after a pandemic are mental health and long-term effects of Covid. Even before the pandemic, it was hard to take care of mental health. Mental health and long-term Covid must be addressed post pandemic. Pre-pandemic mental health was difficult.

The National Mental Health Survey 2015– 16 found that one in eight Indians needed mental health services. Due of stigma, the issue was ignored. Post-pandemic mental health issues have increased. Luckily, mental health stigma has decreased during COVID-19, making people more likely to seek assistance. At the same time, mental health services are rapidly expanding. The government should invest in post- and long-term care, especially primary care.  

Investment in research and development on vaccines and therapeutics: India, which is a pharmacy for the whole world, needs to take responsibility and invest more in the research and development of vaccines and medicines. This is especially critical for emerging and reemerging diseases, as well as numerous neglected tropical diseases that impact low- and middle-income nations.  

Conclusion  

As India emerges from the pandemic, its health sector is grappling with complex challenges, including workforce shortages, inadequate infrastructure, and financial constraints. Nevertheless, there is a silver lining as the crisis has catalysed significant reforms in the sector. Increased investment in digital health technologies and stronger public-private partnerships can accelerate the progress towards equitable access to quality healthcare for all. 

Source: Yojana

Syllabus: GS 2: Social Justice – Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health.