The world's attention is now on India, the epicenter of the global pandemic as the country battles a deadly second wave of Covid-19. The unfoldin

India's Covid crisis exposes deep-rooted problems in public health after years of neglect

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2021-05-23 03:30:02

The world's attention is now on India, the epicenter of the global pandemic as the country battles a deadly second wave of Covid-19.

The unfolding human tragedy has laid bare the deep-rooted problems plaguing India's public health system after decades of neglect and underinvestment. 

The crisis has brought India's public health system to its knees. Scenes of hospitals running out of beds, and people searching desperately for life-saving oxygen or critical medical supplies for their loved ones have hogged international headlines.

For a long time since its independence in 1947, health was not viewed as an economically productive expenditure in the country — unlike investments in industry, agriculture and service sectors, K Srinath Reddy, president of the Public Health Foundation of India, told CNBC.

"For several decades, health systems in India have not received the respect and resources they deserve. Public financing of health stagnated around 1% of GDP and out-of-pocket expenditure on health was over 60% even in recent years," he said in an email. "The central government as well as most state governments had low allocations for health in their budgets."

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