India has one doctor for every 900 patients
Xinhua, August 6, 2016 Adjust font size:
Believe it or not, India has only one doctor for every 900 patients which was revealed by the country's government on Friday.
"There is one doctor for every 893 patients in the country if allopathic doctors and those practising Ayurveda, Unani and Homeopathy streams are considered together," junior Health Minister Faggan Singh Kulaste told the Parliament.
He added "There are nearly one million registered allopathic doctors in the country and over six million Ayurveda, Unani and Homeopathy (AUH) doctors. If all streams are considered together, it gives a doctor population ratio of 1:893," the minister said.
The Constitution of India makes health the responsibility of state governments rather than the central government.
The National Health Policy was endorsed by the Indian Parliament in 1983 and updated in 2002. The National Health Policy is being worked upon further and a draft for public consultation has been released. Endit