A HEALTH SYSTEM THAT TRULY CARES

The country must bolster its health system through increased public financing and unified federal-state efforts. Ensuring accessible, comprehensive care and financial protection will be crucial for sustainable development and global leadership

- K. Srinath Reddy

India became the world's most populous country in the 75th year after independence. As the nation moves to celebrate 100 years of post-colonial freedom in 2047, it aspires to be respected as a leader in the comity of nations, with the productive power of its vast and demographically young human resources propelling accelerated, equitable and environmentally sustainable global development. This casts a great responsibility on the country's health system to keep India's population healthy and productive as it ages.

Increase public financing: In a federal polity, where complementary constitutional roles of the central government for designing health policy and of states for delivering health services are clearly defined, this calls for the health systems across the country to be unified in objectives and aligned in operations. In order to deliver this mandate, the composite health system of India needs higher levels of public financing, with a minimum of 2.5 per cent of the country's growing GDP dedicated to health-a policy commitment oft-promised but yet to be delivered. This will help improve infrastructure from primary to tertiary care, train and deploy a larger and better-skilled health workforce across the country, and ensure the assured provision of drugs and diagnostics wherever and whenever needed, while promoting research and development for finding innovative solutions to India's unresolved and emerging health challenges. An increase in health financing must come from both central and state budgets.