‘India remains badly placed to tackle Covid-19 spread’

DESPITE several healthcare reforms, India remains badly placed to tackle the third wave of Covid-19 infections sweeping the nation, Fitch Solutions on Friday said, adding the unprecedented crisis has highlighted the need to increase investment in the healthcare sector.

After some success in curbing the virus considerably, India’s economy had returned to functioning normally by the second half of 2020. ‘However, over recent weeks, the virus has started spreading rapidly, partly due to complacency on the social distancing measures and mask-wearing policies,’ Fitch Solutions said in a note.

‘Despite several healthcare reforms, India remains badly placed to tackle the rapid spread of the coronavirus,’ it said, adding the epidemic could be worse in India if it is not adequately contained.

With 8.5 hospital beds per 10,000 population and 8.0 physicians per 10,000, the country’s healthcare sector is not equipped for such a crisis. ‘Moreover, the significant inefficiency, dysfunctioning, and acute shortage of the healthcare delivery systems in the public sector do not match up with the growing needs of the population,’ it noted.

Besides, more than 80 percent of the population still does not have any significant health insurance coverage and approximately 68 percent of the Indian population has limited or no access to essential medicines.

‘The low level of public spending on health is both a cause and an exacerbating factor accounting for the poor quality, limited reach and insufficient public provisioning of healthcare.’

‘Dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic has brought out the critical importance of the public sector in health provisioning,’ the agency said.