{"id":10614,"date":"2021-12-11T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-11T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/current_affairs\/uncategorized\/11-12-2021\/global-health-security-index-2021\/"},"modified":"2024-08-16T19:55:06","modified_gmt":"2024-08-16T14:25:06","slug":"global-health-security-index-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/11-12-2021\/global-health-security-index-2021","title":{"rendered":"Global Health Security Index 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-size: 13pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><u>In News<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: disc;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Global Health Security Index 2021<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> was jointly released by non-profits <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) and the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 13pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><u>About Global Health Security Index 2021<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><u> <\/u><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: disc;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It is the <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>first comprehensive assessment and benchmarking of health security<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> and r<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>elated capabilities<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> across 195 countries.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: disc;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The GHS Index aims to <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>spur measurable changes in national health security<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> and <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>improve the international capability<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> to address one of the world\u2019s most omnipresent risks: infectious disease outbreaks that can lead to international epidemics and pandemics.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: disc;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It was first launched in October 2019.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: disc;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Revised framework: <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The findings of the GHS Index 2021 are based on a revised framework and updated data collection conducted between <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>August 2020 and June 2021.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It has assessed countries across six <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>categories, 37 indicators and 171 questions, using instantly available information.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: disc;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Categories:<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"height: 99px; width: 624px;\" src=\"https:\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/2fG47mJUAEL8FYwzPYkwGjrwOooSLWIlZ-Xi6BNQO9y2BUXd14DcOhyrTLgkfhj8Hd1dGjWU_PS5ouMiO17DRMg-lgxSh-HFiZTV4C68Hibm_evHATvLe0bHz7Nf48hxucglwX1u\" \/><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Image Courtesy:<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghsindex.org\/about\/#What-is-the-GHS-Index?\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #1155cc;\"><strong><u>ghs index.org<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 13pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><u>Major Highlights\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: disc;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Overall performance:<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The world\u2019s overall performance on the GHS Index score slipped to<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong> 38.9 (out of 100) in 2021<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">, from a score o<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>f 40.2 in the GHS Index, 2019.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: disc;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Countrywise:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Some 101 high-middle<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>&#8211; and low-income countrie<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">s, including India, have slipped in <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>performance since 2019.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>In South Asia,<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> India, with a <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>score of 42.8 (out of 100)<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> too, has slipped by <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>0.8 points since 2019.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: square;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">But three neighbouring countries \u2014<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong> Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Maldives <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u2014 have improved <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>their score by 1-1.2 points.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: disc;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><u>Issues\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">All countries had<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong> insufficient health capacities.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> This left the world acutely vulnerable to <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>future health emergencies.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: square;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">All countries remain dangerously unprepared for future<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong> epidemic and pandemic <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">threats, including<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong> threats potentially more devastating than COVID-19.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In 2021, no country scored in the<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong> top tier of rankings and no country scored above 75.9.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>65 % of assessed countries<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> had not published and implemented an <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>overarching national public health emergency response <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">plan for <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>diseases with epidemic or pandemic potential.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>73 % of countries did not have the ability to provide expedited approval for medical countermeasures, <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">such as vaccines and antiviral drugs, during a public health emergency.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Most countries, including<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong> high-income ones<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">, have not made <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>dedicated financial investments in strengthening epidemic<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> or pandemic preparedness.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: disc;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><u>Recommendations<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Prioritize the building and maintaining of health security<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> capacities in national budgets as they are important for responding to routine health threats and can provide important benefits to countries\u2019 overall health and development.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Conduct assessments, using finding<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">s from the 2021 GHS Index, to identify thei<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>r risk factors and capacity gaps, and develop a plan to address them.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Develop, cost, and make financial arrangement<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">s to support a National <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Action Plan for Health Security i<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">f they have completed Joint External Evaluations.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Be more transparent with their capacities and risk factors.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: square;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">National decision-makers need readily available information about their country\u2019s plans and other capacities, and increased transparency is essential for a global prevention, detection, and response to epidemics and pandemics.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Conduct comprehensive after-action COVID-19 pandemic reports<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> so that they can learn from this crisis and ensure that capacities developed during the pandemic are expanded and sustained for future public health emergencies.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Support countries in addressing the urgent global need<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> to strengthen health systems as part of countries\u2019 public health capacity-building efforts.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div>\n<table style=\"border-collapse: collapse; border: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 624px;\" cellspacing=\"0\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color: #fff2cc; vertical-align: top; border: 1px solid #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: 13pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><u>State of Healthcare in India<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: disc;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Healthcare has become one of India\u2019s largest sectors, both in terms of revenue and employment.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: disc;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Healthcare comprises <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>hospitals, medical devices, clinical trials, outsourcing<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">, telemedicine, medical tourism, health insurance and medical equipment.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: disc;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Indian healthcare delivery system is categorised into <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>two major components<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">: <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Public and Private.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Government, i.e. public healthcare system, comprises limited secondary and tertiary care institutions in key cities and focuses on providing basic healthcare facilities in the form of primary healthcare centres (PHCs) in rural areas.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The private sector provides the majority of secondary, tertiary, and quaternary care institutions with a major concentration in metros and tier I and tier-II cities.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: disc;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>India&#8217;s competitive advantage<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> lies in its large pool of well-trained medical professionals.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>\u00a0India is also cost-competitive <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">compared to its peers in Asia and Western countries.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The cost of surgery in India is about one-tenth of that in the US or Western Europe.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: disc;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Challenges \/Concerns\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>COVID-19 crisis<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> has highlighted glaring gaps in<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong> India\u2019s healthcare sector.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Availability of basic infrastructure:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: square;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">India has been struggling with <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>deficient infrastructure <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">in the form of a <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>lack of well-equipped medical institutes<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> for quite a while now.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Shortage of efficient and trained manpower: <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">One of the most pressing problems in India remains a <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>severe shortage of trained manpower<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> in the medical stream, this includes <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>doctors, nurses, paramedics and primary healthcare workers.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Insufficient Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (ISDP):<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Due to manpower &amp; resource shortage.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Denial of health care:<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> High out of the pocket expenditure &amp; non-uniformity in Health care (regarding Rural Vs Urban)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: disc;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><u>Related Initiatives<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/current-affairs\/29-09-2021\/ayushman-bharat-digital-mission\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #1155cc;\"><u>Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM)<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/current-affairs\/02-03-2021\/3rd-jan-aushadhi-diwas\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #1155cc;\"><u>Jan Aushadhi Yojana<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/current-affairs\/11-03-2021\/pradhan-mantri-swasthya-suraksha-nidhi-pmssn\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #1155cc;\"><u>Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/current-affairs\/30-10-2021\/ayushman-bharat--pradhan-mantri-jan-arogya-yojana-ab-pmjay\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #1155cc;\"><u>Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY)\u00a0<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>National Health Policy (NHP) 2017\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: square;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The latest National Health Policy (NHP) 2017 highlights the \u2018Health for All\u2019 approach to provide assured healthcare for all at an affordable cost.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In Union Budget 2021-22, the government announced its plans to launch \u2018Mission Poshan 2.0\u2019 to merge \u2018Supplementary Nutrition Programme\u2019 with <\/span><\/span><\/span><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/current-affairs\/30-09-2021\/pm-poshan-scheme-gets-centres-approval\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #1155cc;\"><u>\u2018Poshan Abhiyan<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u2019 (Nutrition Mission) in order to improve nutritional outcomes across 112 aspirational districts.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In March 2021, the Parliament passed the<\/span><\/span><\/span> <a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/current-affairs\/25-03-2021\/national-commission-for-allied-and-healthcare-professionals-bill-2020-\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #1155cc;\"><strong><u>National Commission for Allied Healthcare Professions Bill 2021,<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">which aims to create a body that will regulate and maintain educational and service standards for healthcare professionals.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In March 2021, various states and UTs started the implementation of the <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #1155cc;\"><u>\u2018Intensified Mission Indradhanush 3.0<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u2019\u2014a campaign aimed to reach those children and pregnant women who were missed out or have been left out of the routine immunisation programme due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is aimed to accelerate the full immunisation of children and pregnant women through a mission mode intervention.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In May 2021, the Defense Minister launched the <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>\u2018Services e-Health Assistance &amp; Tele-consultation (SeHAT)\u2019 <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">OPD portal to provide telemedicine services to armed forces personnel and veterans.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Recently, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare\u2019s \u2018\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/span><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/current-affairs\/22-09-2021\/e-sanjeevani\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #1155cc;\"><u>e-Sanjeevani\u2019<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u2019 has conducted more than 1 Crore teleconsultations across India.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: square;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It has grown over 1000% in the last 10 months.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In September 2021, the Telangana government in a joint initiative with World Economic Forum, NITI Aayog and HealthNet Global (Apollo Hospitals) launched the \u2018<\/span><\/span><\/span><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/current-affairs\/20-05-2021\/medicine-from-the-sky-project-\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #1155cc;\"><u>Medicine from the Sky\u2019 project<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">. The project will pave the way for drone delivery of life-saving medicines and jabs in far-flung regions of the country.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Source:<\/span><\/span><\/span><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.downtoearth.org.in\/news\/health\/world-unprepared-for-future-pandemics-global-health-security-index-2021-80611\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #1155cc;\"><u> DTE<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In News Global Health Security Index 2021 was jointly released by non-profits Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) and the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. About Global Health Security Index 2021 It is the first comprehensive assessment and benchmarking of health security and related capabilities across 195 countries. The GHS Index aims to spur measurable changes [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10615,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[30,47],"class_list":["post-10614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-affairs","tag-gs-2","tag-health"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2023\/07\/996667Screenshot.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10614","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10614"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10614\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25658,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10614\/revisions\/25658"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}