India’s health revival with learnings from COVID-19

The COVID-19 outbreak has put the entire globe in a massive imbalance, with the healthcare industry bearing its brunt. The pandemic has moulded the way we look at healthcare. It had a significant impact on the way the sector operates and redefined the safety protocols for everyone. This unprecedented crisis has left us to think about the effect on us in the long-term and short-term. The COVID-19 situation has reinstated the requirement to develop robust healthcare infrastructure and preparedness to manage future medical emergencies.

The havoc wrecked by the pandemic across the country has raised the bar to increase healthcare expenditure. We need to increase the gross domestic product (GDP) allocation towards the healthcare sector. It should be at least 2-3 percent more than what it is currently. Healthcare spending must increase significantly and need not wait until 2025 to reach 2.5 percent of GDP. Instead, we should aim to achieve it in a year or two. The GST should be made zero to increase the accessibility and affordability of healthcare products and services. Increasing the investments in health is of utmost importance. To run the show effectively, a cordial collaboration between the government and the private players is quintessential. Government incentivizing the private sector will help build and modernize health facilities making high-end quality healthcare accessible to even the remotest areas. Through a healthy partnership, we can ensure equal healthcare delivery for all.

The health sector faces a severe shortage of healthcare workforce and is in dire need of an amply skilled workforce. It is imperative to provide healthcare workers with continuous skill enhancement with specialized training for ailments like cancer. As the pandemic shifted everything to online mode, a mix of online and offline medical education should be promoted.

With the increasing burden of cancer in the country, it is pivotal that screenings for cancer be made a part of primary care. The government should consider making cancer screenings for the elderly free of cost to ensure early detection. This is essential as it helps the patient get the right treatment and further leads to saving lives.

The coronavirus disease outbreak across the globe and in the country makes a strong case for resurrecting the debate of Universal Health Coverage (UHC). India stood number 56 on the population coverage index for essential health services in 2017, which was considered quite poor compared to the global average (WHO and IBRD 2017). The WHO views UHC as key to ensuring health and wellbeing for all ages and a fundamental objective for attaining equitable, sustainable health outcomes. Implementation of UHC is quintessential to bring health uniformity across the country. Health cess can be brought into the picture through mobile phones, which will help in directing to pool funds for the use of UHC. For instance, for everyone who carries a mobile phone, a health cess of `100 or 200 can be charged, which will help generate a pool of funds for UHC, which can be utilized to bring in uniformity. As a country, India is majorly populated with youth who are less prone to fall sick. Hence, they can contribute toward UHC, and when they grow old, they can avail medical care for free.

Innovation in the sector got acceleration since the pandemic struck the world. The scientific community joined hands to bring forth solutions to win over the disease and rolled out the vaccine. Unsurprisingly, the vaccine’s development, the speed that was taken to develop, produce and distribute was remarkable, and hope that the momentum remains the same for long post-pandemic as well. Virtual healthcare spurred during the lockdown has a continued opportunity. Soon, this modality can help in increasing the accessibility to patients and healthcare providers. The pandemic has allowed us to redevelop a robust, innovative healthcare ecosystem that can, in the future, help sail through any such crisis and provide the sector opportunities and beyond.