Majority of India’s population dwells in rural areas, according to healthcare reports of post-pandemic, it is expected that the trajectory of the country’s population will hit 905 million by the end of 2022.
Health is not everything, but without health there is nothing. Characterised as ‘understaffed’, the scenario of healthcare in rural India is a combination of toxic and developing traits. Since COVID-19 hit India, the situation of healthcare in rural India became even more transparent and is out in the open. The virus and its strains didn’t attack the basis of the financial status of a person.
This segment of pandemic gave healthcare in rural India a drastic boost. The ever-evolving sector has now started developing in rural areas as well. Needless to say, the population being at par for rural areas, how is the country planning to fill the gap between need and feed?
India’s Rural Healthcare’s Harsh Reality
Every citizen of India deserves equal rights to healthcare. Unfortunately, this reality is far away from it. In rural areas, the problem is not just limited to understaffing, it revolves around the poor quality infrastructure and shortfall of medical equipment and officials. Lack of resources and growing population gave the rural healthcare industry a further downfall.
Approximately 700 million people are from rural areas. Imagine the catastrophe that would have been created if a pandemic like COVID-19 would have reached the core of rural areas. Considered as the turning point of rural Healthcare, the pandemic finally showed a teensy bit of silver lining. Ruling out the healthcare inequality for the virus hit everyone. This indicated a dire need of filling the gap between need and feed.
With the lack of proper officials in 8% of healthcare centres in rural areas, a lot needs to be addressed by the government. The shift in boosting rural healthcare is a necessity. Will India be able to cope with it or will it lead to a disastrous situation?
Problem With India’s Rural Healthcare
The skyrocketing population isn’t the only problem with rural healthcare in India. Lack of proper machinery and doctors in the local government hospitals tend to turn the villagers or people from rural areas into private healthcare centres. Though this is the last resort for the locals, the high fee for consultation and medicine, takes this hope away too. As per the reports, 92% of the visits to healthcare centres are private centres out of which 70% are urban people.
Even they are hardly able to afford the fee, which rules out all the possibilities for the rural population. These private sectors are not only unreliable for them, but their high charges also disrupt their financial cycles.
Availability, accessibility and affordability are the three major problematic areas that need immediate attention in rural healthcare. Hindering the growth of rural healthcare development, the situation has been noticed by the government. The plan is in action, but can schemes fill the gap between need and feed?
Measures To Fill The Gap Between Need and Feed
Several organisations have come forward to collaborate with NGOs and other organisations to fill the gap between need and feed. The most vital point to remember is that health is much more than what happens at a doctor’s cabin. It is more related to the surroundings, hygiene, and lifestyle of people. The leading healthcare industries are now using mobile technology to meet the unmet needs of rural areas of our country.
India has over 900 million mobile users, making it easier to reach them with mobile technology. Government along with several non-government organisations are coming up with cutting-edge technology and schemes to reach the rural areas. This step taken by the authorities will not just ignite filling the gap between need and feed but will also help in improving their lifestyle and surroundings.
India is an ever-evolving nation with a drastically growing population, making it crucial to fill the gap between need and feed. Healthcare sectors are now more agile and advanced in rural areas. We can now see the land in this vast sea of “need” for healthcare.
