Tuesday, Feb 07, 2023 07:45 [IST]

Last Update: Tuesday, Feb 07, 2023 02:08 [IST]

Critical care

The best thing about living in the 21st century has to be the rapid rate of change in every sector of society. Healthcare in India, in particular, has witnessed a significant amount of evolution. Right from advanced biomedical tools to unimaginable surgeries performed by robots, the healthcare industry in India is at its historical peak. However, along with the fast-paced advancements comes the burden of bearing the highest population in the world. An increasing global population puts a strain on India’s healthcare resources, while longer life expectancies put a lot of stress on India’s healthcare system.


With the health sector in India struggling under a staggering amount of infrastructural problems, there is a high need for our healthcare workers to be updated with the latest knowledge and provided with the newest resources. Historically speaking, healthcare in India has seen many government-sponsored schemes aiming to provide good quality healthcare services to the poorest of the population. The National Rural Health Mission was established in 2005 to address the absence of medical coverage in rural areas. In order to improve health care in rural India, this mission concentrates resources on rural areas and poor states with poor health facilities.  


Out of the current healthcare issues faced by the health sector in India, the biggest has to be a lack of infrastructure. Repeated insufficiency of hospital beds, a dearth of specialised faculty to treat major diseases, and high out-of-pocket financial expenditure makes for an impossibly stressed national health care system. Serving a population size of 1.4 billion, nearly 20% of the entire population of the planet, is a Herculean task in itself. Sustainably managing medical and human resources to fulfil the needs of the future generation should be the foremost thing on government’s mind at the moment.


The Union Budget made some important announcements for the ailing sector, which may revive it for now. The health sector has been allocated ?89,155 crore in the Union Budget, 3% higher than ?86,200 crore allocated in the 2022-23 Budget. Out of ?89,155 crore, ?86,175 crore has been allocated to the Department of Health and Family Welfare, while ?2,980 crore has been allocated to the Department of Health Research. The budget allocation is 13% higher than the revised estimates ( ?76,370 crore) of health expenditure in 2022-23.

 

One very significant announcement was on scaling up the infrastructure for nursing education in India. The Covid pandemic reminded all countries about the need to invest in building capacities among the health workforce. This move to create additional nursing capacity within the country augurs well for the future.


The determinants of good health lie in the social sectors. It is encouraging to see attention in the budget towards food systems, sustainable agriculture, and sanitation. The attention to millets is timely and the encouragement of health promoting foods will also have trickle down effects on marginal farmers. Broader attention towards agriculture will also help the public health cause in assuring access to good nutrition and improving child survival. The scientific management of dry and wet waste in urban areas will contribute towards healthier surroundings, especially important for reducing the transmission of diseases.

Sikkim at a Glance

  • Area: 7096 Sq Kms
  • Capital: Gangtok
  • Altitude: 5,840 ft
  • Population: 6.10 Lakhs
  • Topography: Hilly terrain elevation from 600 to over 28,509 ft above sea level
  • Climate:
  • Summer: Min- 13°C - Max 21°C
  • Winter: Min- 0.48°C - Max 13°C
  • Rainfall: 325 cms per annum
  • Language Spoken: Nepali, Bhutia, Lepcha, Tibetan, English, Hindi