According to a PricewaterhouseCoopers report quoted in Outlook Magazine, the Indian healthcare delivery system has limited resources and will need an investment of $245 billion to deliver desired outcomes in the next two decades. India needs 3.5 million new hospital beds, 3 million doctors and 6 million nurses over a period of 20 years, it added.
Other than the mentioned physical infrastructure, poor health outcomes such as low life expectancy, high infant and maternal mortality rates will also need to be addressed:
- India must increase life expectancy at birth from 66 years in 2012 to 71 years by 2024 and to 80 years by 2034.
- Infant mortality rate (number of infant deaths per 1000 live births), needs to decrease from 44 to 31 in 2024 and to 12 in 2034.
- Maternal mortality rate (number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births), which is at 190 today, could decrease to 124 in 2024 to 27 in 2034.
To achieve these targets, healthcare providers must focus on improving the reach, quality, and affordability of healthcare exhorts the report. It further suggests that India can leverage its strength as a world leader in vaccine manufacturing ─ it contributes 60% of global production − to sharpen its focus on preventive care.
