Healthcare in West Bengal

The nations of the world have agreed that enjoying the highest attainable standard of

health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race,

religion, political belief and economic or social condition.

MAJOR HEALTH DETERMINANTS:

Per Capita Income

Bengal has a per capita income of Rs. 55,864/-.(2012)

West Bengal is the 18th ranked state in India in terms of per capita income

Life Expectancy

Life expectancy at birth(2011) - 65.5(India) and 67.2(West Bengal).

West Bengal is the 8th ranked state in India interms of life expectancy at birth.

Infant Mortality

Data from the NFHS III show that infant mortality rates in West Bengal are lower than those forthe rest of India. They are, however,still quite high compared to countries around the world. Overall, the infant mortality rate in West Bengal, at 46 per thousand births, is lower than the rate estimated for the rest of India.

Immunization of Expecting Mother & the Children:

Total number of children aged between 9 and 11 months who have been fully

immunised (BCG+DPT123+OPV123+Measles) during the year 2010-11 in West Bengal as per

HMIS was 13,51,560 (Male 6,98,964 and female 6,52,596). District-wise status of

immunization as per DLHS-3 is shown below. The average achievement masks the poor

performances in many pockets. Poor immunization coverage in such pockets is one of the

reasons for delay in eradication of Polio from the state. Incidentally, the last known case of

Polio in the country was detected in Howrah district during the early part of the year 2011-12

District-wise status of immunization

Nutrition:

India as well as West Bengal is facing a huge challenge related to poor nutritional status
of the population, particularly the children and the women. In India, every second woman is
anaemic (55.3 %), every third woman is undernourished (35.6 %) assessed by their Body Mass
Index and every fourth baby is born with low birth weight (22 %). Only every second infant younger than six months is exclusively breastfed (46 %), nearly every second young child is underweight (42.5 % of children under five years) or stunted (48 % of children under five years) and three out of four young children are anaemic (79%). Another cause of concern is persistence of high levels of undernutrition showing hardly any improvement between 1998-99 & 2005-06. Maternal and Child Undernutrition is responsible for more than one third of the deaths of children under 5 years.

Bengal just marginally up than the country:

Situation of West Bengal is not much different and is just marginally better than that of

the country. The newborn is to be breastfed exclusively up to the first six months and the same

has to be started within one hour. However, the NFHS-3 survey in the state found that only

around 23.7% of the newborn were being breastfed within the first one hour and only around 13

58.6% of children in age group 0-5 months were being breastfed exclusively. Thus there is need

for awareness generation and community mobilization for promotion of breastfeeding as well as

other child feeding practices. In fact, apart from poverty, the main causes of malnutrition in the

state are deficiencies in child caring and poor feeding practices. The status of nutrition of the

children becomes worse at the higher age group. 

Percentage of underweight children in the age group below 3 years was 37.6% as per the NFHS-3 survey, which suggests interventions  for preventing such decline of nutritional status between six months and three years. This has tremendous impact on development of cognitive skill of the child. Improvement of nutritional level of mother, proper feeding practice, availability of food, control of childhood illness, particularly diarrhoea, warm infestation due to poor hygiene and insanitary environment and proper child care practices including proper implementation of the ICDS programme are very crucial from child’s nutrition point of view

The Market for Health Care: Supply and Demand :-

The demand for health care services:-

When do people seek care?

Despite reporting more cases of illness than in the rest of India, individuals in West Bengal are significantly less likely to seek treatment when sick. For both short- and longterm morbidity, about 12 percent of sick individuals in West Bengal did not seek treatment.

This is mainly due to lack of basic monetary needs and the required awareness that a family of a community should have. The poverty line in india has been pulled down to such levels that people who live below the poverty line do not even have enough resources for the basic minimum nutrition according to their surroundings and lifestyle. How are these families expected to visit a doctor regularly lest the disease inflates!!??

Though in the recent spurt of insurance companies where many people have medical insurances to cover the cost of expenses the net cost to consumers is well below the true marginal cost of providing the care.

 Check the graph below.  For allocative efficiency, we should produce care as long as the marginal benefit covers the marginal cost (Q₀).  However, suppose that our health insurance covers 80 percent of the expense.  Because this lowers the net MC to the patient, the rational consumer will want to purchase Q₁ units of care – considerably more than the efficient level.

Moreover the confidence level of the residents of West Bengal on health care providers shows a very bleak picture. Confidence in hospitals and doctors is significantly lower in West Bengal than the rest of India. In the rest of India, 66 percent of households expressed “a great deal” of confidence, while only 38 percent were similarly confident in West Bengal.

This is not only a non transient issue, the perception of the people show that either by direct experience or informally there have been many cases that the health providers have cheated the customers or didn’t take them seriously(specially in public hospitals!!) which only shows that the menace of corruption have spoilt even health care!!

 Changes Over Time in Percentages Not Seeking Treatment, for Short-Term Illnesses, Rural Residents:-

-Shreyans Banthia