A Healthy population is a fundamental ingredient of Inclusive Development

Universal access to quality health care is not just a social imperative; it is a necessary condition for economic progress and prosperity. For any country to develop it is necessary for the population of the country to be healthy so that they work towards the growth and inclusive development of  the country. With a population of just over 1 billion, of which about 300 million live below the poverty line, India is the largest democracy in the world and one of the most important countries in terms of meeting global development goals. India’s GDP had a steady and consistent growth since independence. The various infrastructural sectors have had a tremendous growth.

But even after 60 long decades of independence we have not been able to achieve a significant level of nutrition and health amongst the population. Inequity and poverty are the root causes of ill health. Access to quality health services on an affordable and equitable basis in many parts of the country remains an unfulfilled aspiration. Disparity in health care is interpreted as compromise in 'Right to Life.' It is imperative to define 'essential health care,' which should be made available to all citizens to facilitate inclusivity in health care. The suggested methods for this include optimal utilization of public resources and increasing public spending on health care. Capacity building through training, especially training of paramedical personnel, is proposed as an essential ingredient, to reduce cost, especially in tertiary care. Another aspect which is considered very important is improvement in delivery system of health care. Increasing the role of 'family physician' in health care delivery system will improve preventive care and reduce cost of tertiary care. These observations underlie the relevance and role of Primary health care as a key to deliver inclusive health care. The advantages of a primary health care model for health service delivery are greater access to needed services; better quality of care; a greater focus on prevention; early management of health problems; and cumulative improvements in health and lower morbidity as a result of primary health care delivery.

Though India has obtained self-sufficiency in food grain production and a major success in PDS and AAY schemes but still we have a major war to fight when nutritional needs are concerned. According to some figures, around 40 per cent of children under the age of five years are malnourished and nearly half of all pregnant women aged between 15 and 49 years suffer from anemia. Nutrition is crucial for fulfillment of basic human rights and forms the foundation for meaningful human existence with decreased susceptibility to infection, related morbidity, disability and mortality, better learning capacities and adult productivity. Poor learning outcomes in our schools are also partly because of the low level of nutrition. To improve the situation Government has initiated several schemes for school going children like Midday meal and also providing iron folic supplements to children.

Again I would stress the importance of improving purchasing power for the economically weaker sections so that the cover of PDS and several other food security schemes is much larger than what we have today. Innovations in the sectors of Food and supplies are the need of the hour. PPP might give a breakthrough in this field as it will boost the level of service and also will reduce the overrun time of schemes.