Vijay Kumar Saraswath, Member, NITI Ayog, has regretted that the prospect of decent health care for all Indians remained a distant dream though India’s healthcare system was delivering effective and affordable care for foreigners.
Delivering the seventh convocation addresss of JSS University here on Friday, Dr. Saraswath said India figured poorly on various indicators like infant mortality and lagged behind not only emerging economies but many of the sub-Saharan countries
He said that in addition to being afflicted with disorders of underdevelopment, India was rapidly racing to the pole position in cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Dr. Saraswath said public financing of health at 1.04 per cent of the GDP was among the lowest in the world and hence an average Indian pays 70 per cent of his health care cost out of his pocket.
Dwelling on emerging areas of research in medical sciences the NITI Ayog member listed cure for diabetes using human embryonic cells, development of a simple and cos- effective test for identifying individuals most at risk of suffering from cardiovascular diseases at an early age, and developing a vaccine against heart diseases.
B. Suresh, VC, JSS University, and others were present.
