Healthcare Disparities and Women’s Health in India: Addressing the Neglect
Introduction
Women’s health has long been an overlooked and neglected aspect of India’s healthcare policies. The Department of Political Science and Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC), Immanuel College, Dimapur, organized a National Seminar on Women and Health to shed light on the various issues affecting women’s well-being in the country. The keynote address by Dr. Shasanka Sekhar Pati highlighted the gender disparities and socio-cultural factors that contribute to the compromised access to healthcare for women in India. This article aims to delve deeper into the issues raised during the seminar, exploring the impact of biased healthcare, social factors affecting women’s health, the adverse effects of the neoliberal economic model, and the need for a comprehensive women’s health policy in India.
Biased Healthcare: Compromised Access for Women
Access to healthcare, a fundamental human right, remains compromised for a significant portion of India’s population, particularly women. Dr. Pati argued that a combination of physical, economic, and sociocultural factors contribute to this disparity. The government’s neglect and lack of recognition of health and healthcare as a national priority, coupled with the legitimization of an unregulated private sector, have created an environment where access to healthcare is not guaranteed.
The skewed distribution of medical care in the country exacerbates the lack of access, with 75 percent of healthcare infrastructure concentrated in urban areas while rural and remote regions continue to be neglected. This imbalance further affects women’s health as they often reside in these underserved areas. Moreover, inadequate investment in health infrastructure, with only 1.3 percent of the national GDP allocated for healthcare compared to the global average of 6 percent, severely impacts women, especially those living in poverty. India’s socioeconomic disparities and the presence of 27 percent of the population below the poverty line worsen health inequalities.
Alarming Statistics: Women’s Health in Distress
Dr. Pati drew attention to alarming statistics concerning women’s health in India. Approximately 800 women die every day from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth globally, with 20 percent of these women being from India. This highlights the dire need for improvement in maternal healthcare in the country. Additionally, there is a higher prevalence of anemia among women and children, indicating the need for targeted interventions to address this health issue.
Comprehensive Healthcare: A Crucial Dimension of Women’s Rights
Dr. Pati emphasized the importance of comprehensive healthcare that goes beyond reproductive health. Mental health, contraceptive awareness, and family planning need to be incorporated into healthcare services for women. Providing high-quality services to women is a crucial dimension of women’s rights, and it is essential to recognize and address their unique healthcare needs.
Social Factors: Impact on Women’s Health
Social factors play a significant role in women’s health outcomes. Dr. Pati highlighted various factors such as gender disparities, early marriage, domestic violence, sexual abuse, malnutrition, poverty, illiteracy, and limited access to quality healthcare that seriously affect women’s health. The prevailing patriarchal and feudal norms, lower social value, limited autonomy, and restricted mobility further contribute to the challenges women face in accessing healthcare. The neglect of women’s health in India’s health policies stems from a focus on reproductive health issues, resulting in men often being the main beneficiaries of healthcare interventions.
The Neoliberal Model’s Adverse Effects on Women’s Health
Dr. Pati addressed the adverse effects of the neoliberal economic model adopted by India after liberalization. The corporatization of healthcare and other welfare sectors has marginalized women, especially in remote parts of the country. Corporate for-profit healthcare services prioritize tertiary level care in urban areas and disregard the healthcare needs of the poor, women, and other marginalized communities. This has led to unethical practices and reduced the concentration of trained physicians in the public sector, especially in rural areas. The poor, including women, have been further impoverished by these processes.
The Need for a Comprehensive Women’s Health Policy
In light of the disparities and neglect in India’s healthcare system, Dr. Pati urged the state to devise an integrated women’s health policy. This policy should take into account the multifaceted factors that influence women’s health and well-being. A gender-sensitive public policy that recognizes the connections between women’s health outcomes, social status, and other aspects of life is essential. The prevailing patriarchal/feudal norms, lower social value, limited autonomy, and restricted mobility call for a woman-centered integrated health policy that effectively addresses the direct and indirect determinants of women’s well-being.
Improving Women’s Health: A Life Cycle Approach
To improve the health status of women, healthcare policies must extend throughout the entire life cycle. A healthy childhood translates to lower female infant mortality, while a healthy adolescence means fewer cases of pregnancy-related anemia, maternal deaths, and low birth weight babies. Investing in health services and education is crucial to empowering women and preventing them from becoming victims of serious emotional and mental trauma. By addressing these issues, India can work towards achieving better health outcomes for women and bridging the healthcare disparities that exist.
Summary
The National Seminar on Women and Health brought to light the gender disparities and neglect that women face in India’s healthcare system. Dr. Pati highlighted the compromised access to healthcare for women due to physical, economic, and sociocultural factors. The lack of recognition of health and healthcare as a national priority, along with the prevalence of an unregulated private sector, further exacerbates the problem. Social factors, such as gender disparities and limited access to quality healthcare, significantly impact women’s health. The adverse effects of the neoliberal economic model and the need for a comprehensive women’s health policy were also explored. By addressing these issues, India can work towards ensuring better healthcare for women and promoting their overall well-being.
—————————————————-
| Article | Link |
|---|---|
| UK Artful Impressions | Premiere Etsy Store |
| Sponsored Content | View |
| 90’s Rock Band Review | View |
| Ted Lasso’s MacBook Guide | View |
| Nature’s Secret to More Energy | View |
| Ancient Recipe for Weight Loss | View |
| MacBook Air i3 vs i5 | View |
| You Need a VPN in 2023 – Liberty Shield | View |
‘Women have never been central to India’s health policies’
Morung Express News
Dimapur | July 10th
The Department of Political Science and Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC), Immanuel College, Dimapur, organized a National Seminar on Women and Health on 10 July under the patronage of the National Commission for Women. The event aimed to shed light on the multifaceted issues affecting the well-being of women in India, with a particular emphasis on the role of the state and the private sector.
Dr Shasanka Sekhar Pati, Associate Professor and HoD, Department of Political Science, ICFAI University, Nagaland, delivered the keynote address, focusing on a perceived gender disparity in the Indian health sector.
biased healthcare
Dr. Pati argued that access to healthcare, a fundamental human right, is compromised for a sizeable portion of the population, particularly women, due to a combination of physical, economic, and sociocultural factors.
“The government’s continued apathy to recognize health and healthcare as a national priority, coupled with the legitimization of an unregulated private sector, has created an environment where access to healthcare is not a given,” he said. .
In addition, he argued that the lack of access was further accentuated by a skewed distribution of medical care in the country, where 75 percent of the infrastructure is concentrated in urban areas, while rural and remote regions continue to be neglected.
Impact on women’s health
Dr. Pati noted that inadequate investment in health infrastructure (1.3% of national GDP) for health care compared to the global average of 6% has severely affected women, especially those living in the poverty. India’s stark socioeconomic disparities also exacerbate health inequalities, with 27 percent of the population living below the poverty line.
According to him, the cost of care has become a major barrier for the marginalized to access quality health services.
Citing recent health indicators, Dr. Pati called attention to the alarming statistics. “About 800 women die every day from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth around the world, and 20 percent of these women are from India,” she noted. In addition, she highlighted a higher prevalence of anemia among women and children, despite various programs and policies in place over the past 70 years.
She also stressed the importance of comprehensive health care, incorporating mental health, contraceptive awareness, and family planning needs, along with the responsibility to provide high-quality services to women as a crucial dimension of women’s rights. women.
Social factors
Dr. Pati highlighted social factors such as gender disparities, early marriage, domestic violence, sexual abuse, malnutrition, poverty, illiteracy and limited access to quality health care, which seriously affect the health of women. women.
“Since the inception of planned development in independent India, women have never been central to health policies,” she said. Focusing on reproductive health issues and “gender-blind” health programs, she said, has come at the cost of overlooking the broader spectrum of women’s health, resulting in men often becoming the main beneficiaries of the intervention.
He said: “Health outlays must not only increase, but must be targeted at the major age-specific health concerns of women.”
Neoliberal model and impact
The assistant professor also addressed what he said were the adverse effects of the “neoliberal economic model” adopted by India after liberalization. He mentioned the corporatization of health, among other welfare sectors, as a result of the further marginalization of women, especially in remote parts of the country.
The push in corporate healthcare has given rise to a system that privileges urbanized tertiary level care with profitability trumping equity, effectively preventing the poor, women and other marginalized communities from accessing needed care, said.
“Corporate for-profit health care services have not only led to unethical practices, but have also reduced the concentration of trained physicians in the public sector, especially in rural areas. These processes have further impoverished the poor in general and women in particular,” she said.
While stating that India’s healthcare sector is one of the most privatized globally, he said the state spends less than 1 percent of GDP on healthcare. It means that the government supports only 17 percent of total health spending and the rest “through the people’s own resources.”
Comprehensive women’s health policy
In light of the disparities, Dr. Pati urged the state to devise an integrated women’s health policy, taking into account the many factors that influence women’s health. She called for gender-sensitive public policy that considers the connections between women’s health outcomes, social status, and other aspects of life.
It noted that prevailing patriarchal/feudal norms, lower social value, limited autonomy, and restricted mobility and access to medical care are some of the causes affecting women’s health status. As such, she said that only a woman-centred integrated health policy can effectively address all the “direct and indirect determinants” of women’s well-being.
“To improve the health status of women, policy care must extend throughout the entire life cycle. A healthy childhood translates to lower female infant mortality, a healthy adolescence means fewer cases of pregnancy-related anemia, fewer maternal deaths, and fewer low birth weight and low birth weight babies,” she said.
In addition, she highlighted the importance of improving health services and education to empower women and prevent them from being victims of serious emotional and mental trauma.
https://morungexpress.com/gender-sensitive-health-policy-essential-to-womens-wellbeing
—————————————————-