Bridge urban-rural gap in healthcare: Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu

Inaugurating the Gem hospital here, he said India has made significant strides in improving the health outcomes of the people with the availability of modern methods of treatment and better healthcare facilities.

However, one of the biggest challenges in building a comprehensive healthcare system is the existence of huge disparity between urban and rural areas, he added.

He said though healthcare has been accorded utmost priority by successive governments since Independence, many challenges on this front continue to be formidable.

They include low public spend, low doctor-patient ratio, low patient-bed ratio, rising out-of-pocket expenditure, dearth of medical colleges and trained doctors, inadequate infrastructure in rural areas, lack of penetration of health insurance and inadequate disease surveillance and and preventive mechanisms, the Vice-President said.

While the private sector was no doubt complementing the government’s efforts in providing healthcare facilities, the focus of the corporate sector was mostly confined to urban areas, he said. “The time has come for the private sector to expand their facilities to the rural areas, where the majority of India’s population lives,” the Vice President added.