- Just a couple of decades back, the country was still being categorized as extremely poor struggling to live up to the massive expectations of a burgeoning population in terms of growth and aspirations at par with overseas counterparts. Since post-1991 globalization and liberalization economic move opening up the market, the country has indeed witnessed spectacular growth in the way we lead our lives what with every conceivable modernity-driven amenity available to us. Noteworthy innovations, inventions, achievements, and progressions are largely driven by technology-aided initiatives that have catapulted the country into a different league altogether.
PC: Lindsay Stein
- However, the sheer population volume precludes us from jumping into the exalted league of nations as yet. There is so much still to achieve before we rightfully lay claim to be called as a developed nation from that of the long-bracketed moniker of a developing nation. Two of the most crucial sectors where we as a nation still lag in comparison to other prosperous and not so prosperous countries is in the field of healthcare and education, respectively. The public health infrastructure in India is still looking for substantial improvements is stating the obvious. The inadequacy of the public health infrastructure was laid bare during the ongoing pandemic where thousands of people lost their precious lives and livelihood for want of prompt medical care.
- Another parameter that judges our efficiency in public health is the infant mortality rate (IMR). IMR is always seen as a proxy for both the overall health of a society and healthcare quality indicating how efficient our public health system is functioning. Against this backdrop, the government of India’s annual sample registration survey (SRS), a demographic survey that tracks changes in IMR, sheds some hard truths. In 2019, India’s IMR was 30 infant deaths per 1,000 live births. Note that this figure represents not just an annual improvement but also a better performance compared to the IMR of 50 in 2009.
PC: Vijay Kumar Modi
- Yet, the situation is not satisfactory in this most vital of indicators. Usually, higher incomes often translate into improvements on many counts. In IMR, however, there is no evidence of a tight link between the two. Let us further explore the intriguing statistics available. Look at Nepal which is just over half of India’s per capita GDP shows a lower IMR. Sri Lanka’s IMR is close to that of the EU at a fraction of the per capita income. Thus, if it’s not income, neither is state capacity a watertight indicator. Notably, countries like Iraq, Syria, and Libya where state capacity has been undermined by perpetual civil war do better than India.
- Therefore, the answer may lie in the starkly uneven performances of India’s states. The two standout performing states with the IMR level of Scandinavia are Mizoram and Nagaland which have a much lesser per capita income than the better states like Haryana. Conversely, states like UP and MP are outliers, performing poorly, with the latter’s IMR of 46 being worse than war-torn Yemen. Undoubtedly, every state’s political culture influence policy priority and as such, it is incumbent on the part of governments to refurbish the most basic of health indicators like IMR with utmost seriousness and intent.
