How to revive the health system in India on a war footing
India needs to channelise the new-found interest in health to reform and revive its public health system.
The coronavirus pandemic has put the Indian health system under enormous stress. Though the number of cases detected and needing hospitalisation is relatively low compared to the worst affected countries in Europe and America, the lockdown period in India is being used to prepare the health system for a likely surge in numbers over the coming weeks. The effort is across the government and sectors.
Railways have converted train coaches into hospital beds, sports stadiums are doubling up as quarantine centres, military camps are being used as isolation wards, defence factories are manufacturing medical supplies, national research laboratories have developed low-cost medical equipment and innovative techniques to boost diagnostics, research institutes are working on mathematical modelling to predict progression of the epidemic. Private sector companies are also contributing in a similar fashion. All this has been set rolling in a matter of just a few weeks. It means that all this capacity, knowledge, skills, expertise and resources had always existed in India. The virus has helped galvanise them.
India needs to use this high level of enthusiasm and energy to revive the ailing health system. We already know what’s wrong with our health system, and the current emergency has further exposed its deficiencies. Let’s channelise the newfound interest in health to reform and revive the public health system as well as public sector vaccine and drug companies. Perhaps the PMCARES Fund should be converted into a UHC (Universal Health Care) Fund with clearly identified goals and milestones. Among the objectives of the fund is to support “the creation or up-gradation of healthcare or pharmaceutical facilities, other necessary infrastructure, funding relevant research,” besides providing support during public health emergencies.
The World Bank has also extended to India fast track credit of one billion dollars to boost “the resilience of the health system to provide core public health prevention and patient care” to manage Covid-19 as well as future disease outbreaks. Specifically, it will help revamp infectious disease hospitals, along with the district, civil, general and medical college hospitals and also help build a network of high containment Biosafety Level 3 laboratories. It will be a good thing if we can leverage the WB credit and PMCARES Fund to boost the health system in a time-bound manner.
(Courtesy of Mail Today)