Healthcare is one of the primary concerns of all countries (at least, it is stipulated by their governments). However, developing countries have scarce resources, which leads to absolutely insufficient funding of their healthcare systems, which, in its turn, results in low quality of services provided, inaccessibility of healthcare services and so on. For instance, in India only 1% of GDP is spent on healthcare (Luthra, 2012). More so, population’s poverty is still one of the major issues and it leads to prevalence of such diseases as malnutrition, TB, and so on.
At the same time, Luthra (2012) adds that the growing Indian middle class requires specific attention in terms of chronic diseases. Public healthcare facilities are unable to provide high-quality services due to various reasons that are based on inappropriate funding and allocation of resources. International lending institutions donate significant funds, but these resources are often inadequately allocated, which makes them less effective (or even completely ineffective).
Clearly, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund provide substantial aid to India, which is beneficial in many cases. Thus, these international organizations facilitate development of various programs concerning microfinancing. Leatherman, Saha, Metcalfe and Mavalankar (2014) state that micofinancing and health microinsurance have enabled many Indians to access the necessary healthcare services. One of the most effective types of microfinancing is loans members of the community provide to each other with no interest.
However, in many cases the IMF and World Bank hinder development of the country as the resources provided are allocated inefficiently. Hall, Ahmed and Swanson (2009) stress that the program of debt release often leads to more corruption and receiving more loans that are used inefficiently. The government claims that they will focus on development of the healthcare system but they do not provide any particular plan, only some declarations (Luthra, 2012). Therefore, it is possible to state that international institutions often contribute to the growth of corruption in the country and can sometimes bring temporal solutions that do not change the system and issues persist.
At the same time, healthy population is the key to development of any country. For instance, the benefits of healthy population become clear when considering performance of an organization. It has been acknowledged that company’s losses are often associated with employees’ illnesses (“Healthy workforce/healthy economy”, 2009).
Healthcare insurance, which is one of most valued benefits, takes up significant funds that could be re-allocated and used for development of the organization. Likewise, it is also possible to trace benefits of healthy population on a larger scale. Thus, Madslien (2013) states that many countries (especially the USA) spend enormous funds on healthcare systems and this expenditure is not very effective. This money could be spend to develop education or various social programs and so on as the money often goes to address illnesses rather than prevent them. Thus, prevention programs could lead to healthier populations and less expenditure.
It is necessary to add that in India, as in any other developing country. maternal mortality is very high and more than 500,000 women worldwide die because of pregnancy-related causes (Hall et al., 2009). Clearly, such high mortality leads to greater impoverishment of Indian families.
It is clear that healthy population is also beneficial for the country as people can contribute to its development. Admittedly, healthy people are more productive and can invest more effort into development of the society. At present, Indians are struggling with various issues and they have no access to proper healthcare, education and so on. If a person in a family gets ill, the entire family often becomes more impoverished. They are often outside the skilled labor force and the country lacks for qualified professionals who could develop the state.
Finally, healthy population is beneficial for development of the country as healthy people are more eager to take an active part in development of the state. Indians could be more cooperative with the government and communities could play a more active role, which could lead to sustainable development of India.
The Indian government is using funds provided by international lending institutions to develop its healthcare system. The Indian government also plans to increase the expenditure on healthcare up to 2.5% of GDP (Luthra, 2012). It is clear that collaboration with such organizations is beneficial as in some states (for example, Tamil Nadu) officials have managed to achieve significant results in the sphere of healthcare. Thus, in Tamil Nadu there is a program that ensures access to drugs to all people. As has been mentioned above, the loans form international lending organizations are also used for development of various programs associated with microfinancing.
In conclusion, it is possible to note that India has many problems in the sphere of healthcare as the vast majority of Indians are unable to access healthcare services. However, the government understands the importance of developing this sector of economy as healthy population can contribute to development of a strong economy. However, officials should use resources more efficiently especially when it comes to financial aid of international lending institutions.
Reference List
Hall, M.J., Ahmed, A., & Swanson, S.E. (2009). Answering the millennium call for the right to maternal health: The need to eliminate user fees. Yale Human Rights and Development Journal, 12(1), 62-119. Web.
Healthy workforce/healthy economy: The role of health, productivity, and disability management in addressing the nation’s health care crisis. (2009). JOEM, 51(1), 114-119. Web.
Leatherman, S. Saha, S., Metcalfe, M., & Mavalankar, D. (2014). Integrating microfinance and community health interventions: A narrative review of evidences from India. International Journal of Development Research, 4(3), 442-446. Web.
Luthra, S. (2012). An interview with Victoria Fan. The National Bureau of Asian Research. Web.
Madslien, J. (2013). Healthy people create economic health. BBC News. Web.