Health Inequalities

 There is strong evidence that socioeconomic factors such as education, work position, income level, gender, and ethnicity have a substantial influence on one's health. Health disparities are widespread in the majority of nations, regardless of their economic status. As we progress down the economic ladder, the problem of health disparity becomes more acute. Systematic variations in the health status of distinct demographic groups are known as health inequalities. Individuals and nations alike bear tremendous social and economic consequences as a result of these injustices. Inequalities in health come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Gender, location, age, and other variables all play a part. I'll be focusing on geography in my blog, namely urban and rural locations.

The bulk of people in India live in rural areas. Despite the fact that this majority accounts for over 70% of the population, only 20% of hospitals and 50% of dispensaries are available to them. Some communities lack dispensary facilities, forcing residents to rely on Ayurveda or the nearest town for medical assistance. In rural regions, there are just 0.36 hospitals per 100,000 people, but in metropolitan areas, there are approximately 3.6 hospitals per 100,000 people. The number of rural residents without access to medical services has increased as the population in rural regions has grown.

PHCs (Public Health Centres) in rural regions lack basic healthcare services like as X-ray and blood tests, which have grown increasingly important in recent years, not to mention specialised treatments such as anaesthesia and gynaecology. Furthermore, due of economic disparities among members of the same society, those at the bottom of the economic ladder find it difficult to obtain medical care. In comparison to the wealthy, the poor have bigger families. It is a person's worst dread if they become unwell. Even if the sickness is moderate, individuals must spend a significant portion of their income on health, making it difficult for other family members to survive.

Women make up about half of India's population, yet their living conditions are deteriorating in both rural and urban regions. The sex ratio has decreased significantly from 927 women for 1000 men in 2001 to 914 women for 1000 men now. In India, there is still a scarcity of knowledge regarding healthcare. Any indication of this can be seen in the NFHS-5 survey. In the first trimester of pregnancy, only 75.5 percent of moms in urban regions and 67.9 percent of mothers in rural areas got an antenatal checkup. Although the requirement for iron and folic acid increases during pregnancy, only 34.4 percent of urban women and 22.7 percent of rural women ingested it for more than 180 days.

The majority of indices show that urban regions outperform rural areas; nonetheless, it is not about who has the highest score; it is about people's quality of life. Despite the fact that urban regions have a higher score, they nevertheless fall far short of the desired score (ratio) for all of these indicators. To address this issue, both the private sector and the government must work together to create and offer adequate medical care to the poor. The government must also ensure that everyone, regardless of location or economic status, has access to it.