Dear Editor,
This refers to your editorial, “Improve healthcare facilities” (August 23, 2018). It is a matter of grave concern that India’s healthcare spending is only 1.3 per cent of the gross domestic product, when the global average for countries is about 6 per cent. Health sector has, practically, been hijacked from the domain of lower and middle class by the private players as a result of lack of government’s participation, involvement and control in healthcare.
Sky rocketing cost of medicines has forced 68 per cent of Indian citizens to live without access to medicines. Health for all still remains a distant dream. It is a pity that life saving treatments are linked with the capacity of our credit cards. As a result, majority of our population are forced to learn the art of dying without having medicines and treatments.
To bridge the gap in health care, Government hospitals need to outnumber private ones to give the latter a run for their money. In addition, medicines should be made affordable by controlling their profit margin. And last but not the least, India needs to catch up with the global average of healthcare spending in respect of GDP.
Yours,
Sujit De, Kolkata