JOIN USKarnataka needs to pull up its socks to improve the quality of healthcare it is providing its people. According to a health index compiled by Niti Aayog and published in its recent ‘Healthy States, Progressive India: Report on Rank of States and UTs’, Karnataka stands at eighth among 21 states with regard to healthcare. Although the state has improved its ranking since the base year of 2015-16, this is not reason for satisfaction as the improvement is only marginal. Several of its neighbours, such as Kerala, the topper in the index, followed by Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, have done consistently well. Indeed, Kerala and Andhra occupied the top slots even in the previous ranking. Tamil Nadu and Telangana are at the ninth and tenth spots. The ranking of states on the health front was done under three categories: large states, small states and Union Territories. The worst off among the large states were Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Haryana, Rajasthan and Jharkhand can draw satisfaction from the fact that they figure among the top three in terms of annual incremental performance. Mizoram and Manipur performed well overall among the small states, while Chandigarh and Dadra and Nagar Haveli topped among the UTs.
In addition to ranking the states, the Niti Aayog report also provides insights into what states did right or wrong on the healthcare front. The Kerala government gets a pat on the back for taking health concerns seriously. The report draws attention to the frequent transfers of officers running health campaigns and programmes in Karnataka. Unlike Andhra, where health officials remain at a post for 24 months, in Karnataka, these officials are moved out after six months or so. In fact, Karnataka is at the bottom of the heap when it comes to average occupancy in three key offices — the principal secretary, mission director (National Health Mission) and director (health services). These officers play a critical role in the implementation of health programmes, but the state government is shunting them out even before they have learnt the ropes. This shortcoming in Karnataka’s healthcare system is not an insurmountable challenge.
Kerala’s healthcare system is inspiring. Last year, around 18 lives were lost to the Nipah epidemic. This year, no lives were lost to the deadly virus, thanks to the robust fight the government put up against it. Compare this to the large number of deaths of children due to what is now said to be hypoglycaemic encephalopathy in Bihar, while the government there watches helplessly. Karnataka and the rest of India should draw lessons from Kerala’s inspiring fight against disease and death.