Even though the government is putting strenuous efforts in enhancing the current health care systems by opening health centres and helping poor people through free medical facilities, yet the qualitative and quantitative availability of primary health care services is very less in remote areas. Far away from the hustle of city life, somewhere in a rural area people suffer from the brutality of life due to poor medical facilities. The adults, as well as children, face a life of uncertainty as the healthcare system is only accessible to those people who have the penny in their pockets and can easily afford medical facilities. Hence, there is insignificant frailty in rural health care services due to certain Medical issues for poor people in India.
Rural Versus Urban Medical Facilities
According to a report by United Nations, it is found that 75% of healthcare infrastructures including medical specialists and doctors are concentrated in urban areas where only 27% of Indian population live. On the other hand, around 716 million people that make up 72% of remaining Indian population stay in rural areas and get hit by chronic lack of primary health care facilities. In a contrast, private hospitals and quality healthcare are only limited to urban areas. Also, economists, as well as investors, prefer to invest in urban areas as compared to not-so-profitable rural areas.
Need of Basic Primary Health Care and Infrastructure in Rural Areas
Healthcare is a fundamental necessity for every individual but lack of medical personnel, the dearth of quality infrastructure and minimal access to medical facilities and basic medicines cause to impede the condition of well-being in rural areas.
- In India, around 700 million people reside in rural areas where the current state of medical facilities is deplorable.
- Though, there are plenty of programmes and policies run by the government for promoting a healthy infrastructure and allowing medical facilities to every individual. Still, there is a dire need for procedures and new practices to ensure timely healthcare reaches to the rural parts of India. The effectiveness of policies and programmes run by the government is questionable due to the gaps that occur in the midst of the implementation.
- If we talk about the healthcare status of rural India then Primary Health Care Centers (PHCs) are very limited to certain areas. Among them 8% of the centres do not include medical staff as well as doctors, 39% of PHCs do not have lab technicians and 18% of them have lack of pharmacists.
- In India, the rate of maternity deaths is quite high and the majority of it happens in rural areas only where people are deprived of maternal health care.
Ways to Improve Healthcare in Rural India
Mobile technology is a great solution for several healthcare projects run by leading global organizations and NGOs. This tool is very constructive in spreading awareness and reporting problems faced by the poor people in rural India. Mobile technology is beneficial for:
- Making women as well as men aware of their basic rights of demanding good quality of care.
- Bringing accountability and reporting issues related to lapses in the health delivery process.
- Knowing about the health venues and increasing uptake of proper health services.How Can Rural Health Condition Be Changed?
The only way to bring a ray of hope is by implementing defined policy with a set of proper guidelines that will ensure sustainability of rural healthcare plans. This idea is also going to attract private sectors where investors will be interested in making an investment in rural healthcare segments like remote diagnostics, telemedicine services and operation of other rural health-related services. Even in Nagrik Foundation, we aim at improving the quality of life of rural population by conducting health camps and awareness campaigns. We believe in increasing life expectancy by putting efforts in reducing common killers associated with maternal or child mortality. So, the wide range of diseases is fully eradicated from our society by addressing emerging health issues.