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With a population in excess of one billion
people, India accounts for 16 per cent of
the world’s population and 21 per cent
of the world’s global burden of disease.
Since independence, and buoyed by a healthy
economy and a wider acceptance of its presence
in the larger world, the country has made
substantial gains in the health sector, including
increased life expectancy, reduced infant
mortality, reduced fertility rates, eradication
of smallpox and reduction of leprosy.
The Crude Death Rate (CDR) and Crude Birth
Rate (CBR), has declined from 27.4 per thousand
in 1951 to 8.0 in 2003, and from 40.8 per
thousand in 1951 to 24.8 in 2003, respectively.
Life expectancy at birth has increased from
32.1 in 1951 to 63.6 in 2003, while the
Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) has declined
from 146 per thousand in 1951 to 68 in 2003.1
However, disparities do exist between urban
and rural confines, between states, between
districts within states, and between communities
within districts. Consequently, the averages
indicated above may not always be true.
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| Geographical spread
of projects |
There is a vast public health infrastructure,
comprising of over 145,000 sub-centres,
23,000 Public Health Centres (PHCs) and
3,000 Community Health Centres (CHCs). It
is estimated that this vast infrastructure
caters to only 20 per cent of the population.
80 per cent of healthcare needs are still
being provided by the private sector.
The rural areas of India, especially, have
large pockets of under-served populations,
living amidst poverty, malnutrition and
poor health. Lack of access to healthcare
has thus often led to morbidity, mortality
and out-of-pocket expenses, often leading
to indebtedness.
The national scenario has spurred donor
agencies, such as the Trust, in its limited
capacity, to take note of gaps within the
Indian health care system and consequently
address them, in an attempt to contribute
to an overall improvement in the health
care service delivery system in the country.
During 2006-07, as part of the overall
Strategic Plan
2011 exercise, the Trust made efforts
towards evolving a plan to guide funding
activities across the Health portfolio over
a five-year period. This exercise included
mapping of the national priorities of the
health sector, reviewing the incumbent portfolio
of the Trust and in light of these, developing
the strategic plan for the Health portfolio.
The plan identified six priority
areas of work that could be supported within
the Health portfolio, including:
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Reproductive and child health |
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Infectious diseases |
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Non-communicable diseases |
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Disability |
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Human manpower and health system development
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Environment |
Currently, the Trust focuses
on the following four sub themes through its
grant making activities
1
Statistics and related information culled
from: (a) website
of World Health Organisation and (b)
website
of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
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