Conference held on Stakeholders’ Initiatives to Improve Healthcare Access

To address the issue of lack of healthcare access in India, a conference was organized in Mumbai in which representatives from various Healthcare organisations, NGOs and Pharmaceutical companies shared their contributions towards the improvement of healthcare in our country.This conference highlighted the various incremental steps taken by healthcare organizations towards better healthcare access for the Indian patients by bringing together all the stakeholders for a unified cause – a call for action. Although considerable growth trajectories have been marked by Indian economy but healthcare system is still ailing and more than 65% of the Indian population does not have access to quality healthcare.

Speaking on the occasion Mr. Ranga Iyer, Healthcare Consultant said, “We need to join hands and raise our voice towards the “lack of access to healthcare in India so that the healthcare condition of our country can be improved. I hope today’s initiative will act as a catalyst towards motivating everyone for taking initiatives for better healthcare system in India.”

Given India’s enormous economic strides since the early 1990s, continued healthcare inaccessibility is particularly disappointing. The facts speak for themselves: Although around 70% of Indians live in rural and semi-urban areas, nearly 80% of healthcare facilities and medical personnel are based in cities and other urban centres.

“In my opinion, the superlative way towards the improvement of healthcare accessibility is to develop healthcare infrastructure, encourage healthcare insurance and increase the allocation to healthcare expenditure. The access to healthcare with special reference to disabled leprosy patients in the community is virtually absent particularly in rural areas. It is important to adopt the existing cost effective models as the neglected patients suffering from leprosy are denied the access to care at the community level. This is a question relating to human rights” said Dr. R Ganapati, Director Emeritus, Bombay Leprosy Project.

The objective of this conference was to appreciate and showcase the initiatives undertaken to provide healthcare access to all, thus creating an environment for developing improved policy framework for healthcare in India. Furthermore, this initiative would act as a catalyst towards encouraging everyone for taking more initiatives for better healthcare in India.

Mr. Ranjit Shahani, President OPPI said, “Although efforts have been undertaken, both by individuals and organisations, the situation is still far from encouraging. Lack of awareness about preventive measures and treatment, low levels of basic healthcare facilities, inadequate physicians and trained medical staff are a few problem areas which need immediate attention.”

The stakeholders shared the success stories of their contribution towards this social issue of “Access to Healthcare” In addition to their past achievements, they also discussed about their future steps to improvise the Healthcare situation in India.