Statsguru: Six charts that explain the state of Indian healthcare

Last week, the NITI Aayog published  its health rankings based on 2019-20 data. The report rated states on the basis of their performance across three broad indicators — health outcomes, governance, and health service delivery. While Kerala outperformed other large states, Uttar Pradesh (UP) topped the rankings in terms of incremental change, followed by Assam and Telangana. In UP, the health index jumped 5.52 points compared to last year; the corresponding increase for Kerala was 0.6 points (chart 1). 

However, a Business Standard analysis shows that UP did not show any gains in most parameters concerning health outcomes. In terms of neonatal mortality rate, UP did not register any change compared to 2014. Chhattisgarh was the only state to perform worse, as the neonatal mortality rate increased compared to 2014 (chart 2).

In terms of under-5 mortality, while UP registered an 18 per cent decline compared to 2014, some other large states performed better. Himachal Pradesh reported a 36 per cent decline, whereas the under-5 mortality ratio declined 30 per cent in Bihar (chart 3).

UP, though, registered the highest gains in terms of immunisation coverage. One of the worst-performing states in 2014, UP reported a 15.8 per cent point increase, topped only by Madhya Pradesh, which recorded a 22.5 per cent increase (chart 4). 

Although the health rankings do not track infrastructure availability, analysis shows that only six states —  Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Punjab and Maharashtra — had a higher ratio of doctors per 1,000 people than the World Health Organisation prescribed standard of one doctor per 1,000 people. UP was among the bottom six performers among larger states, besides Jharkhand, Haryana, Chhattisgarh and Bihar (chart 5).

In terms of hospital beds, Karnataka had 3.9 hospital beds per 1,000 people, followed by Kerala with 2.8 hospital beds. The ratio was lowest in Bihar with only 0.2 beds available per 1,000 people (chart 6).

StatsGuru is a weekly feature. Every Monday, Business Standard guides you through the numbers you need to know to make sense of the headlines; Aadhaar, CDDEP, SRS