Health Budget: A drop in the ocean

Dear Readers,

Wish you a very new happy year. Over the past seven decades, we have witnessed path-breaking changes in terms of innovation, research and development in the medical field. With seminal contribution to the furtherance of medical science, Indian doctors and medical experts have made their country proud in the eyes of the world.
Double Helical has been making a difference in the lives of the socially and economically disadvantaged groups through raising awareness as well making voluntary contributions in the areas of education, health, human rights and social services. The magazine provides a platform to recognize innovation, people, products and services that are helping to transform the healthcare sector in the country and ushering in affordable, high quality and inclusive healthcare for masses.
In the current issue, we focus on union health budget 23. In recently announced budget, the budget allocation for health for a population of more than 140 crore people in our country is Rs. 86,175 crores for Ministry of Health for Family and Welfare and Rs. 3,647 crores for Ministry of Ayush with its five departments, respectively. It forms 2.06% of the total union budget and equivalent of USD 63.75 per person. This allocation to health may be compared to Rs. 2,40,000 crores for Indian railways and Rs. 1,62, 000 crore to National Highways Authority of India. This allocation appears like the story of a horse riding the jockey, rather than the rider being on the top!
The World Health Organization (WHO, since its formation in year 1948 guides healthcare all over the world,. Even though India is on the anvil of becoming the fourth largest economy in the world, its per capita annual expend on health remains a miniscule at USD 63.75 compared to the top 15 developed nations of the world with an average per capita annual spend of USD $5736 . The United States leads the pack with 16.8% of its GDP and $12318 per person annually on its health.
The United States is the highest spending country worldwide when it comes to health care. In 2020, total health expenditure in the U.S. exceeded four trillion dollars. Expenditure as a percentage of GDP is projected to increase to around 20 percent by the year 2028. If we talk about India’s health budget then it is noted that the India home healthcare market size was valued at USD 8.8 billion in 2022 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.29% from 2023 to 2030. The increasing need for better quality postoperative and primary care, advancement in technologies, rising disposable income, the shift of trend from communicable to lifestyle diseases, and the increasing availability of improved home care services with the technology-enabled platform are expected to drive the market growth.
The growing geriatric population & dependency ratio in India is expected to drive the demand for home healthcare. The growing geriatric population and dependency ratio in India is expected to drive the demand for home healthcare. According to the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the aging population of India is expected to reach 298 million by 2051, accounting for 17% of the national population. With the introduction of advanced home healthcare services in the country, high-quality healthcare can now be delivered in the comfort of one's own home. As cover story we highlight on Diabetes which is emerging as one of the most common and challenging health problems of the 21 st century. Rapidly increasing and reaching epidemic proportions, the disease causes substantial morbidity and mortality affecting even the youth. It has become a major public health issue, causing tremendous burden both in social and economic terms. Diabetes mellitus is a disease in which the body’s ability to produce or respond to insulin is impaired. Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into glucose or energy needed for daily life. Diabetes results in abnormal metabolism of carbohydrates and elevated levels of glucose in the blood.
The cause of diabetes continues to be a mystery, although both genetics and environmental factors such as obesity and lack of exercise appear to play roles. The increased thirst and urination, increased hunger, fatigue, blurred vision, numbness or tingling in the feet or hands, sores that do not heal and unexplained weight loss are common symptoms of diabetes. So knowing causes of diabetes can help a person understand how best to treat their symptoms, and help them understand how they got diabetes in the first place. While many causes of diabetes can be prevented, some causes are just the way the body is made, and the sooner a diabetes type can be diagnosed, the sooner a person can get back to normal health and take the measures needed to take care of one successfully. There is more such interesting and thought-provoking stuff to savour in this issue. So, happy reading!

Thanks and regards

Amresh K Tiwary,
Editor-in-Chief