{"id":43010,"date":"2025-05-09T19:21:44","date_gmt":"2025-05-09T13:51:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=43010"},"modified":"2025-05-09T19:23:57","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T13:53:57","slug":"public-health-in-india-strained-by-flawed-policy-and-weak-training","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/editorial-analysis\/09-05-2025\/public-health-in-india-strained-by-flawed-policy-and-weak-training","title":{"rendered":"Public Health in India: Strained by Flawed Policy and Weak Training"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Issues Related To Health<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Despite efforts to improve healthcare access, India&#8217;s public health system remains underfunded and poorly coordinated, leading to inefficiencies in disease prevention, healthcare delivery, and medical education.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About the Public Health System of India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India\u2019s public health system is structured to provide <strong>universal healthcare access, <\/strong>focusing on <strong>preventive, promotive, and curative services.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It operates through national health programs, state-level initiatives, and local healthcare delivery mechanisms.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It is crucial in India <strong>due to the double burden<\/strong> of <strong>communicable and non-communicable diseases<\/strong>, as well as significant health disparities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI)<\/strong> is a leading public health institution in India that works on training, research, and policy development in the field.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#ebecf0\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Health &amp; 7th Schedule of Indian Constitution<\/strong><br>&#8211; <strong>State List:<\/strong> Public health is primarily categorized under primary care and health education, limiting broader policymaking.<br>&#8211; <strong>Concurrent List:<\/strong> Drug safety, pollution control, family planning, and food safety fall under shared legislative control between State and Union governments.<br>&#8211; <strong>Union List:<\/strong> Critical issues like quarantine measures, international health regulations, and Census data are centrally governed.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Challenges in India\u2019s Public Health System&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Policy Paralysis and Governance Issues:<\/strong> Public health responsibilities are <strong>scattered across multiple government levels,<\/strong> like the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Water Resources, Food Safety Departments, and local bodies, causing poor coordination and accountability gaps.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Immunization and disease control are managed separately by departments of public health and preventive medicine, while food safety, sanitation, and water management remain under Distinct Commissionerates.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong>Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)<\/strong> fights diseases linked to tobacco, while <strong>Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)<\/strong> advances tobacco production, reflecting a lack of policy coherence.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong>absence of a unified national health strategy<\/strong> results in inconsistent healthcare policies across states.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Weak Training and Education Standards: <\/strong>Public health education in India is often limited to medical training, ignoring social, environmental, and behavioral health factors.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <strong>Master of Public Health (MPH)<\/strong> programs lack standardized curricula, affecting the quality of public health professionals.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Underfunding and Infrastructure Gaps:<\/strong> India\u2019s healthcare spending remains below global benchmarks, limiting investments in primary care and preventive health services.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The growth of private healthcare has overshadowed public sector development, widening healthcare access disparities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Components of India\u2019s Public Health System<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Ayushman Bharat: <\/strong>India\u2019s flagship universal health coverage program, providing financial protection for secondary and tertiary care.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>National Health Mission (NHM):<\/strong> It focuses on maternal and child health, communicable disease control, and strengthening primary healthcare.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It includes Health and Wellness Centers (HWCs) to improve preventive healthcare services.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Health and Wellness Centers (HWCs):<\/strong> Strengthen preventive healthcare and expand primary health services.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>National Health Policy (2017):<\/strong> It outlines India\u2019s vision for strengthening healthcare infrastructure, disease prevention, and universal health coverage.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It emphasizes primary healthcare expansion, digital health integration, and financial protection for vulnerable populations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It recommended raising public health <strong>spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2025,<\/strong> and recent budget allocations indicate progress toward this goal.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Public Health Surveillance (Vision 2035):<\/strong> It aims to enhance data-driven disease monitoring and response strategies.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It promotes real-time health data collection and predictive analytics for epidemic preparedness.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Health Systems Strengthening:<\/strong> India has adopted<strong> Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS)<\/strong> to ensure quality healthcare delivery.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Initiatives include hospital management societies, skill development programs, and quality assurance mechanisms.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Public Health Governance and Policy Frameworks:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Public health responsibilities are divided across central, state, and local governments, leading to overlapping regulations and weak coordination.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>MoHFW oversees national health policies, disease control programs, and medical education.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Forward<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Strengthening Public Health Governance:<\/strong> Establishing a <strong>centralized health policy framework<\/strong> to improve coordination between state and national health agencies.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Expanding public health education beyond medical training to include social sciences, environmental health, and policy analysis.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enhance interdepartmental coordination to unify efforts in disease prevention, sanitation, pollution control, and food safety.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Investing in Healthcare Infrastructure:<\/strong> Increasing budget allocations for primary healthcare, focusing on preventive care and disease surveillance.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Enhancing training programs for public health professionals, ensuring standardized curricula and skill development.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Promoting Community-Based Health Initiatives:<\/strong> Encouraging local governance participation in healthcare planning and implementation.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Strengthening public awareness campaigns to improve health literacy and preventive care adoption.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India\u2019s public health system requires urgent policy reforms, improved training programs, and increased funding to address systemic inefficiencies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>By strengthening governance, investing in infrastructure, and expanding education, India can build a resilient and equitable healthcare system for future generations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Daily Mains Practice Question<\/strong><br><strong>[Q]<\/strong> How do policy gaps and inadequate training contribute to the challenges in India\u2019s public health system, and what reforms are necessary to create a more efficient, equitable, and sustainable healthcare infrastructure?<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/epaper.thehindu.com\/ccidist-ws\/th\/th_international\/issues\/131145\/OPS\/GTCEBMQ8U.1+G0GEBPD3M.1.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Source: TH<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/upsc-daily-news-analysis-9-May-2025-PDF.pdf\">Download PDF<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Despite efforts to improve healthcare access, India&#8217;s public health system remains underfunded and poorly coordinated, leading to inefficiencies in disease prevention, healthcare delivery, and medical education.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-editorial-analysis"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43010","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\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43010"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43010\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43047,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43010\/revisions\/43047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}