Health is wealth

We should identify healthy life expectancy as the prime measure of national development

- K. SRINATH REDDY

IN THE SONG of Solomon, Nobel laureate Toni Morrison wrote, “If we do not create the future, the present extends itself.” As we envision India’s health in 2047, we must take stock of our present health status, evaluate the progress made since independence, anticipate the changes in population health needs and health system capabilities over the next quarter century and draw upon the distillate of that analysis to design a path to the future we seek.

India is now the most populous country. The demographic dividend of a young population, available for the next 25 years, demands investments to keep the population healthy and productive as it ages. The United Nations Population Fund forecasts that the number of persons aged over 60 years will grow from 153 million now to 347 million by 2050. Can we ensure healthy ageing, where people will remain fit and functioning rather than frail and feeble? Otherwise, we will have a cascade of chronic non-communicable diseases and mental health disorders.

Health threats posed by climate change, environmental pollution and loss of biodiversity will escalate over the next quarter century. Our health system has to withstand this fusillade. Future pandemics are high probability events. Microbial surveillance must now extend across several species. New vaccines and drugs must be developed within the country owing to the fragility of global supply chains during public health emergencies.