Question

Which of the following indicates that the Health care in India is suffering from an urban-rural and rich-poor divide?

Options

• Health care in India is suffering from urbanrural and rich-poor divide.

• There are only 0.36 hospitals for one lakh people in rural areas whereas it is 3.6 hospital per one lakh population in urban areas,

• In villages, specialized medical care is completely missing like pediatrics, gynecology, anesthesia and obstetrics.

• All of the above

Answer 1

All of the above

Explanation:

The urban-rural and rich-poor divides in Indian health care are well documented. Rural areas are home to 70% of the population, while rural hospitals account for 20% of all hospital beds. It means that 80% of hospitals serve 30% of the population. Only 11% of the 7 lakh beds are in rural regions. In rural areas, there are just 0.36 hospitals per 100,000 people, whereas, in urban areas, there are 3.6 hospitals per 100,000 people, i.e. the number of hospitals in urban areas is ten times that of rural areas. Specialized medical care, such as paediatrics, gynaecology, anaesthesia, and obstetrics, is virtually absent in villages. PHCs in remote areas lack even X-ray and blood-testing capabilities. 20% of doctors who pass leave the field.