{"id":332089,"date":"2025-04-07T20:16:54","date_gmt":"2025-04-07T14:46:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?p=332089"},"modified":"2025-04-08T20:21:25","modified_gmt":"2025-04-08T14:51:25","slug":"improving-indias-healthcare-for-mothers-and-newborns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/improving-indias-healthcare-for-mothers-and-newborns\/","title":{"rendered":"Improving India’s Healthcare for Mothers and Newborns"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source<\/strong>: The post Improving India’s Healthcare for Mothers and Newborns has been created, based on the article \u201cBridging gaps, building resilience<\/strong>\u201d published in \u201cThe Hindu<\/strong>\u201d on 7 April 2025. Improving India’s Healthcare for Mothers and Newborns.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Improving<\/p>\n

UPSC Syllabus Topic:<\/strong> GS Paper2- Governance-Issues Relating to Development and Management of Social Sector\/Services relating to Health.<\/p>\n

Context<\/strong>: World Health Day, observed on April 7, highlights global health priorities. The 2025 theme, ‘Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures’<\/em>, focuses on maternal and newborn health. For India, with a population of over 1.4 billion, it presents an opportunity to address existing healthcare challenges and push for a more inclusive and resilient health system.<\/p>\n

For detailed information on Maternal and Child Health<\/strong> read this article here<\/a><\/p>\n

Importance of Maternal and Newborn Health in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. Maternal and newborn health is crucial in India due to its vast population of over 1.4 billion, emphasizing the need for scalable and effective healthcare solutions.<\/li>\n
  2. India has made progress through Ayushman Bharat<\/strong> and Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY)<\/strong>, offering financial protection to 500 million people<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  3. Health and Wellness Centres<\/strong> aim to strengthen primary care, but challenges remain\u2014staff shortages<\/strong>, poor diagnostics<\/strong>, and irregular medicine supplies<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  4. While 70% of the population lives in rural areas<\/strong>, only 35\u201340%<\/strong> of the healthcare infrastructure is located there.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    India<\/strong>\u2019<\/strong>s Dual Disease Burden<\/strong><\/h2>\n
      \n
    1. India faces a dual disease burden<\/strong>\u2014infectious diseases and rising non-communicable diseases (NCDs)<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
    2. NCDs cause 65% of all deaths<\/strong>, driven by poor lifestyle choices like unhealthy diets, sedentary habits, and tobacco use.<\/li>\n
    3. According to the International Diabetes Federation (2024)<\/strong>, 101 million Indians<\/strong> live with diabetes.<\/li>\n
    4. Air pollution<\/strong> caused 1.6 million deaths in 2019<\/strong>, as reported by The Lancet<\/em>.<\/li>\n
    5. Malnutrition remains a concern<\/strong>: 35% of children under 5 are stunted (NFHS-5); 57% of women aged 15\u201349 are anaemic<\/li>\n
    6. Programmes like Poshan Abhiyaan<\/strong> and ICDS<\/strong> target malnutrition but need better data tracking<\/strong>, community engagement<\/strong>, and multi-sector coordination<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Low Public Health Spending and High Out-of-Pocket Costs<\/strong><\/h2>\n
        \n
      1. India\u2019s public health spending remains low. In the 2025\u2013<\/strong>26 Union Budget<\/strong>, the Health Ministry received <\/strong>\u20b999,858.56 crore<\/strong>, only 1.97%<\/strong> of the total budget.<\/li>\n
      2. Out-of-pocket expenses<\/strong> continue to burden families, pushing 55 million people into poverty<\/strong> each year.<\/li>\n
      3. A shift towards preventive healthcare<\/strong> is essential, through screenings<\/strong>, school-based health programmes<\/strong>, and public awareness campaigns<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Digital Health: Expanding Access but with Gaps<\/strong><\/h2>\n
          \n
        1. India is making progress in digital health<\/strong>.Programmes like the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission and eSanjeevani have enabled over 10 crore teleconsultations.<\/li>\n
        2. However, only 37% of rural households<\/strong> have internet access. Many patients and healthcare workers lack digital skills, limiting the benefits.<\/strong><\/li>\n
        3. If the digital divide<\/strong> is not addressed, it may worsen inequalities.<\/li>\n
        4. India must improve rural connectivity<\/strong>, train health workers, and pass data privacy laws<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
        5. Emerging tools like AI<\/strong>, wearables<\/strong>, and remote monitoring<\/strong> can improve early detection and care, if used responsibly and fairly<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Way Forward: Building a Resilient and Inclusive System<\/strong><\/h2>\n
            \n
          1. India\u2019s health goals align with Sustainable Development Goal 3<\/strong> (good health and well-being).<\/li>\n
          2. Unlike developed countries, India still needs stronger public health systems<\/strong>, universal insurance<\/strong>, and early childhood care<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
          3. India\u2019s G20 presidency in 2023<\/strong> showcased its leadership in vaccine equity<\/strong>, digital health cooperation<\/strong>, and global health diplomacy<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
          4. Aligning domestic policy with global frameworks like the International Health Regulations<\/strong> is important.<\/li>\n
          5. Mental health is a growing concern\u201414% of Indians<\/strong> suffer from mental disorders (NIMHANS, 2023). Programmes like Tele-MANAS<\/strong> need more support.<\/li>\n
          6. Climate change and health<\/strong> are linked. The National Action Plan on Climate Change and Human Health<\/strong> is a positive step.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Question for practice:<\/strong><\/p>\n

            Examine how the theme of World Health Day 2025, “Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures,” reflects the healthcare challenges and priorities in India.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Source: The post Improving India’s Healthcare for Mothers and Newborns has been created, based on the article \u201cBridging gaps, building resilience\u201d published in \u201cThe Hindu\u201d on 7 April 2025. Improving India’s Healthcare for Mothers and Newborns. UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper2- Governance-Issues Relating to Development and Management of Social Sector\/Services relating to Health. Context: World… Continue reading Improving India’s Healthcare for Mothers and Newborns<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10320,"featured_media":332253,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230],"tags":[300,212,10498],"class_list":["post-332089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","tag-governance","tag-gs-paper-2","tag-the-hindu","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Improving-Indias-Healthcare-for-Mothers-and-Newborns.png?fit=1280%2C850&ssl=1","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10320"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=332089"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332089\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/332253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=332089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=332089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=332089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}