Prominent individuals look at the Covid-19 scenario and visualize the way forward for the nation. –EDITOR
The world’s largest COVID-19 lockdown would likely end by May 17. India has so far reported more than 60,000 cases. India did close the international borders very early and enforced a lockdown, which was appreciated across the globe and by international organisations like WHO. Now we look forward to ending the lockdown and restarting economic activities, and fight adverse effects of the disease.
Global efforts to develop a vaccine against COVID-19 have progressed at an unprecedented pace, but we have to be prepared for all possible outcomes.
If a medicine doesn’t come by December, then what is needed; and even if it comes, then how much time it will take before it reaches common man across the world are serious concerns.
India has a doctor-to-population ratio well below the level recommended by WHO; it being 1:1,445, that adds up to a total of roughly 1,159,000 doctors. WHO says the ideal ratio for doctors to population should be 1:1000. Considering India’s population, the number of doctors needed to meet this ratio would be roughly 1,674,800. If only government hospital doctors are included, India has one allopathic government doctor for every 10,926 people, according to the National Health Profile 2019 of the Central Bureau of Health Intelligence (CBHI). As per an estimate, India has a shortage of about 6 lakh doctors and 20 lakh nurses, and an even bigger number of supporting medical staff.
India has handled the COVID-19 pandemic exceptionally well as compared to other western nations. However, considering the rise in the number of infections, India is in dire need for more medical staff and amenities. According to the Health ministry, India has 950,000 active doctors. Since the health ministry has predicted the number of cases would peak at 826,000, the number of doctors seems absurdly low. If the government wants to stay successful in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, it needs to rapidly build medical institutions and increase the number of doctors. There are multiple ways for the government to undo the mistakes of the past and create a medical system adept at fighting any emergency situation it may be confronted with in the future.
If India wants to achieve a 1:1000 ratio, it will need an additional 2.07 million doctors by 2030. For this, the government needs to increase its spend on the health sector. The government needs to aid attempts at constructing new medical institutes. The arrangement can be a semi-private or private partnership. Encouraging private parties to gain profit from their institutes while providing India with doctors will have two effects: The doctor deficit that India is facing will be eradicated and the economy will get a much=needed boost from an almost untapped market.
The Budget of the Health Ministry for the year was the 10th highest at roughly $9 billion. In view of COVID-19 and the doctor deficit, it is necessary to cut spending from other ministries and re-allocate more funds to the health ministry. If the government wants to achieve an ideal ratio of healthcare workers to its population and create an adequate infrastructure of hospitals which can serve each citizen well, then it is of utmost importance to bring FDI and increase the share of the Budget the health ministry receives every year. If only a few of these steps are taken by the government, the Indian healthcare system will be regarded as one of the best in the world and most importantly, when, if ever, a similar kind of situation resurfaces at our doorstep again, we will be well prepared to battle it.
The writer is BJP Member of Parliament from Jharkhand.