Experts stress the need to improve access to health care in India

Providing adequate access to medicines and health care is one of the most challenging issues being faced by India today. While scientific knowledge and health care products and services have advanced exponentially over the last generation, millions of people in India still die from preventable and curable diseases because they lack access to basic medicines and medical services.

Disparities in health and health care remain pervasive and problematic. The World Health Organization estimates that only 35% of India’s population is able to get essential drugs for common diseases, warn experts in a prepared statement.

Despite 60 years of independence, majority of citizens have very limited access to quality health care and have poor health indicators like low levels of immunization and high infant mortality rates. More than a million Indians die each year due to lack of proper treatment, most of them being women and children. Furthermore, poor health impedes individuals’ ability to seek educational opportunities, to attain regular employment and to reach full life spans, they say.