“The Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha calls upon all the countrymen, including swayamsevaks, voluntary organisations and the government, to endeavour to make lives of all citizens disease free by awakening the society for healthy lifestyle, child and mother’s healthcare, eradication of malnourishment and deaddiction against intoxication. For making all kinds of medical services accessible to common people, the central and state governments should bring requisite improvement in the infrastructure, policies and procedures, with the allocation of adequate resources. For this, coordinated expansion, regulation, teaching and research should be promoted in all the systems of medicine, and the regulatory mechanism and statutory provisions be executed transparently”. – “Need for effective health care and easy access to affordable medical services” – Resolution of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh passed at Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha 2016, held from March 11-13, 2016 at Nagaur, Rajasthan.
When Organiser Weekly announced the Ayushman Bhava conclave, a significant event dedicated to the issues related to holistic healthcare in collaboration with the prestigious Gujarat University, it sparked a wave of curiosity. The ‘why’ question was raised from many quarters and ‘why not?’ was our resounding answer. We believe that holistic healthcare is a critical issue for us as a nation, especially when we aspire to be a developed nation with our own parameters and not just in GDP terms and healthy society is a prerequisite for such ambition. The Ayushman Bhava conclave was a crucial step towards this goal, engaging various stakeholders and leading to specific policy imperatives.
In the post-COVID-19 world, there is a growing consciousness about holistic healthcare. Bharat’s traditional medical practices are gaining global acceptance. The integral approach towards well being, where various pathies are seen as complementary to each other, is a testament to the effectiveness of our traditional methods. Despite criticism in the name of mixopathy, many hospitals are adopting integrated approach, using best practices of both the worlds. Even the representatives of Indian Medical Association (IMA) supported the integrationist practices from the Organiser forum with the caveat that not mixing the different pathies is a great step forward.
Affordability and accessibility are other critical dimensions of the healthcare sector. As per the Bharatiya Public Health Standards, nearly 80 per cent of public health facilities in Bharat need to meet minimum essential standards for infrastructure, workforce, equipment, etc. The public healthcare system intends to provide healthcare access to all but urban middle class and above largely depend on the private sector for various reasons. The state of primary healthcare is precarious both in urban and rural settings for different reasons. Though secondary and tertiary treatments have seen remarkable improvement, they are beyond the reach of urban poor. The public healthcare sector, catering to the rural areas, suffer from the poor quality of services, creating major gap in accessibility. Inadequate infrastructure, shortage of healthcare professionals, urban-rural and sub-regional disparities, inadequate health insurance coverage, and other inequities make affordability and accessibility issues even more complex. Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) – an initiative to ensure health coverage for people with low incomes and weaker populations in Bharat with insurance cover up to Rs 5 lakh per annum to the 100 million families in for secondary and tertiary hospitalisation – is a remarkable step in ensuring access to healthcare and good quality hospital services without facing financial difficulty. Still, compared to achievements in other fields, like ensuring food security, a lot needs to be done for inclusive healthcare. The honourable Governor of Gujarat Shri Acharya Devvrat flagged many lifestyle and food habits related issues – from regular exercise and yoga to consuming organic and seasonal food. Growing urbanisation and addiction to gadgets are impacting our physical, mental and social health, which should be addressed immediately. This highlights the need for lifestyle changes, inspiring us to adopt healthier habits and improve our overall well being.
In this context, Organiser tried to bring different healthcare sector stakeholders, namely medical practitioners, their associations, researchers, pharmaceutical companies, people involved in the hospital management and voluntary organisations working in the field of health awareness. We hope this would not remain just an event but culminate into a white paper on affordable, accessible and holistic healthcare for Bharat.
