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HEALTH INEQUALITY & SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA
L.K. Verma

Health of an individual is the most important individual & social asset. One may be
from any strata of society for him ‘health is wealth’. And rightly health has been considered very
important in the constitution of the WHO:
“The enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental
rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or
social condition”.
Thus one can say without hesitation that issue of health is a matter of Human Rights as well.
Any violation can be construed as violation of human rights.
Widely accepted definition of health is that given by the WHO. Accordingly positive health
is described as “health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not
merely an absence of disease or infirmity”. In recent years it has been further amplified to
include ability to lead a socially and economically productive life”
However since this definition does not take into consideration impact of environmental
pollutants on human health there has been a shift in the concept of health and the global
commitment is towards “Total Health’ in recent past.
Definition of Total Health should be somewhat as “Health is a state of complete physical,
mental, and social well being where life thrives in healthy environment devoid of pollutants;
and not merely an absence of disease or infirmity.”
There has been a contin uous exploitation of nature and its resources by the human beings
depriving the underprivileged of natural resources. Social matrix is such that all in a society must
benefit by the resources of nature in an equitable and just manner. A generation of humans must not
view the earth as a commodity to be exploited and finished in his life time , but must think about
how the next generations are going to find sustenance. Life is not one cycle of birth & death but is a
continuous process and therefore a generation of human being has to worry about the generations to
come. This Concept of life has been beautifully described by T Adeyoe Lambo, consultant to WHO
in his article “Total Health” –
“It is now apparent that a more balanced consideration of the biological, social, and cultural
aspect of health is needed. Life is a process and not a substance-a living system based upon the

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primacy of continuity and inter-relatedness throughout the universe….. If man and his family are
to remain in empathy with the emerging necessities in the developing milieu, an adequate design of
interdisciplinary tools will have to be made to assist in this task of providing a total health
package.” 1
Therefore continuity in existence of life is an important aspect of living, and one cannot
forget the needs of the next generation, nor can one overlook the fact that the earth and the natural
resources is not the property of one nation or society, but of the whole living world. But the
question is why we are not able to perceive the changes in the environment & ecology which is
happening everyday. The answer is ‘one life is too small a period in the time- clock of universe, and
therefore one is not able to perceive gradual but definite degradation of the environment mainly
caused by human activity’. Even though unliveable environmental may not be manifestly visible
today but would challenge the human existence in the future.
In the words of Rachel Carson, author of the famous book ‘Silent Spring’ – “Future
generations are unlikely to condone our lack of prudent concern for the integrity of the natural
world that supports all life”2 . And looking at the lack of concern today one is tempted to believe
that “Man has lost the capacity to foresee and forestall. He will end by destroying the earth”. 3
Egocentric attitude of humans has to change to ‘eco-centric attitude’.
The present scenario appears to be to carry on till catastrophe strikes. In the words of
Herman Daly ‘there is something fundamentally wrong to treat the Earth as if it was a business in
liquidity’. Unfortunately that is what appears to be the perception of the present generation, hapless
& helpless within the confines of consumerism. The race is to exploit the earth & its eco-system as
much and as quickly as possible.
Social order is primarily based on economic considerations. Just to illustrate 90 % of
population sustain itself on 10 % of resources of the society whereas 10 % population consume 90
% of the resources. This is also called ’10-90’syndrome. Social and economic inequality mirrors in
health sector as well, and casts a shadow of gloom over the society. Inequalities in all sphere of
social determinants cause fault lines in the social matrix which brings about its own problems in its
wake. End results are division in the society unsocial & antisocial activities even to the extent of
terrorism. Divide between ‘haves’ and ‘have -nots’ is sharp and clear, and that causes many

1
WHO, World Helath Dec 1975, Page – 3.
2
Silent Spring By Rachel Carson – P 13. (1987)
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Saying by Albert Schweitzer, Nobel Laureate German Philosopher, Physician, and Humanitarian.

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unwanted individual & social behaviour. Therefore it is necessary to have a preview of the
inequalities. There are many reasons for inequality but this article is limited to health inequality.

India is a large country having multicultural society. In about 2.4 % of land 16 % of human
population is cramped. Therefore density of population in India is rather high. 72 % population are
in the rural areas where connectivity, availability of potable water, electricity, and other basic
amenities are scarce. Health care professionals are therefore not very much enamearoured by
getting posted to the rural areas in India. As per Indian constitution provision of health care by
public sector is a shared responsibility between the Centre & States. The public sector health care
system is three tiered- the Primary Health Care, Hospital Health Care, and Tertiary health care. The
administrative set up is somewhat as follows: -
(a) Primary Health Sub-centres (PHSC)
(b) Primary Health Centres (PHC)
(c) Community Health Centres (CHC)
(d) District hospitals
(e) Tertia ry Care Hospitals and referral centres.
India has 137,000 sub-centres, 28,000 dispensaries, 23,000 PHCs, 3,000 CHCs, and about
12,000 secondary & tertiary hospitals. The whole administrative set up may appear large but most
of the health care facilities are under staffed, and understaffing is most prominent in the rural health
care sector. 15 % of Indian population do not have access to health care due to reasons of
unavailability or due to economic reasons. Expansion of health care in India has been mostly urban
oriented when major part of population lives in rural or semi-urban locations. Mushrooming of
private hospitals in India has been in the urban areas, and is profit oriented. Public health care
systems are becoming extinct by the day. Insurance system may not suit Indian conditions since a
very large section of rural population would not be able to afford it, and the governments (central or
state) may not find the required budget.
Health Care Systems are more oriented towards curative health care, and do not consider
impact of environmental pollutants on human health from the preventive angle. Reason being
environmental pollution is viewed more as an environmental issue rather than health issue. Proper
waste management is essential to neutralize adverse effects of environmental pollutants, including
biological pollutants. There is hardly any focused attention to the growing menace of waste which
is directly proportionate to growing population. Polluter pays principle is self defeating in the sense
that polluters can pollute and get away with it by paying appears accepted philosophy. In fact the

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principle should be ‘repair and replenish’ rather than ‘polluter pays’. Trying to copy Western
models in its entirety has resulted in fragmented approach and confused results. Developing
countries should adopt scientific advancement, no doubt but must modif y to suit local conditions,
level of awareness, and habits & practices.
There are gender bias, economic bias, status bias, and bias of availability of funds within the
health care delivery in India . There are differences in the accessibility of resources. Merely by
professing equitable accessibility one cannot ensure equitable sharing of resources. To remove the
socio-economic bias rural health care systems will have to be strengthened. At present even if
posted to a PHC doctors avoid going there by whatever means. This aberration can only be
corrected by improving the infrastructure of the villages by improving connectivity, security, and
job opportunities in the rural segment. Similarly to remove gender bias ‘care of the girl child’ will
have to the motto. Awareness will have to be developed where a family does not discriminate
between a male and a female member of the family in matters of health care (which inc ludes
nutrition). Funds for health care will have to be made available to the urban & rural sector on
equitable basis. Even the resources of the society will have to be spent in an equitable manner
between the rich & poor to get out of the ’10-90’ syndrome.
Development as we understand today leads to stressed relation amongst privileged and
underprivileged classes in a society. Economic development is considered benchmark of
development but would not this approach justify industrial hyperactivity and exploitation of natural
resources? In fact there is a requirement to re-examine the concept of ‘Sustainable Development’
and move towards concept of ‘Sustainable Co-Existence’. Co-existence with nature and other
biological species.
There is a wide gap in policies at the macro level & implementation at the micro level in all
the developing countries. For example proper legislation & rules have been framed on health care
delivery & waste management in India, but implementation remains far from satisfactory. Primary
Health Centres are designed for rural health care but there is hardly any cognizable action to
strengthen rural health care system. Similarly in matters of waste management laws have been
enacted but implementation remains unsatisfactory. Micro level factors do not guide policies etc at
the macro level. Thus capacity created at the macro level fails to obtain directional capability at the
micro level.
Capability must be applied with community participation at the grass root level with clear
understanding of weaknesses and potential human failures, and it must remain dynamic.
Predetermined performance indicators should be carefully identified in relation to the policies so

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that capability approach itself may be subjected to analysis & modification for bette r
implementation and results.

One can see that sustainable development by itself is likely to further enhance health
inequality instead of correcting it. Present day bench mark of sustainable development includes
industrial activities, and unless there is a substantial change in the methods adopted so far industrial
activity is likely to further degrade the environment and deprive natural resources. Economic life
style is a direct result as well cause of industrial hyperactivity and unless something is done to
change the life style of today society is going to suffer inequalities in which case health inequality
would be most prominent.