The present healthcare delivery system in Kerala is a failure, according to P.M. Mathew, Professor, Department of Economics at Christ University, Bangalore. He said the abandonment of public health strategies was the prime reason behind the prevailing scenario.
He was delivering the keynote address at a seminar on ‘Low Mortality, High Morbidity Syndrome:
The Health Paradox in Kerala’ at B.K. College for Women near here on Monday. Dr. Mathew pointed out that the State had the highest morbidity rate in the country. He attributed the situation to various reasons. “By foregoing the achievements gained in the sector, the authorities have paved way for the re-emergence of certain diseases,” he said.
He added that the erosion of grassroots-level public healthcare mechanism and the dysfunctional municipal systems had led to the situation.
There has been an increase in the prevalence of diseases.
Water-logging, unsanitary conditions during the monsoon, poor waste management system and ineffective vector control programmes were cited as some of the reasons. .
Mahatma Gandhi University Pro Vice-Chancellor Sheena Shukkur inaugurated the seminar at a session chaired by college principal Lilly Rose.
