Health Equity in India: An Examination Through the Lens of Social Exclusion

Abstract

To ensure health care access among the vulnerable and the poor is the prerogative of the State since the financial burden of curative care is higher among lower income groups, most of whom are Dalits. In the last 70 years, India has achieved considerable improvement in the health of its people. Nonetheless, the gap across social groups remains wide. There is evident association of low health status with poor, female gender, rural place of residence, tribal ethnicity, scheduled castes (SC) and specific minority groups. Therefore, the need is to revisit policy implementation regime and environment to ensure health equity. This article aims at explaining pertinent healthcare issues and challenges through select indicators of health, poverty, illness-induced expenditure and coping mechanisms across social groups.