Here is a reality check for Odisha on World Health Day on April 7 this year. As high as around 68-70 per cent of the population in the State fell sick and consulted doctors for treatment of diseases at Government hospitals across the State last year. Such a high proportion of population getting afflicted with diseases sounds very disturbing. According to the latest data available with Health Directorate, the proportion of patients admitted in Government hospitals vis-a-vis the State’s population has shown a rise from that of a decade ago. When the number of patients admitted in hospitals constitutes around 10 per cent of the population now, it was around 6 per cent in 2005. However, the proportionate population turning up for treatment at outdoors of the hospitals has shown a decline to around 62 per cent from over 65 per cent a decade ago.
According to Public Health Director Kailash Das, the proportionate rise in patients admitted to at Government hospitals, in part, corresponds to increase in population over the years. He, however, explained that most of the patients load received was diagnosed with preventable diseases; therefore it is of concern but not alarming in nature. For instance, from over 70,000 admissions to hospitals over 60 per cent were treated for acute diarrhoeal symptoms, he explained.
A glance at the available data reveals that maximum patient load is witnessed in afflictions like malaria, diarrhoea, typhoid, respiratory infections and pneumonia - all are preventable diseases in nature. Dr Das observed that proper awareness among people could go a long way in prevention and thereby helping in bringing down the disease burden in the State. As per the available data, though malaria burden is the most, acute respiratory infections account for the maximum burden among other diseases like diarrhoea, jaundice, typhoid and pneumonia. However, the high disease burden in Odisha cuts more into the people’s pocket than that of Government. Data with the Union Health Ministry reveals that when each person in Odisha spends Rs 4 on treatment of illness, proportionately the State spends Re 1 only.
According to the World Health Organisation, the Governments in poor States in India have to hike their expenditure on public health to ease the disease load and resultant economic burden on people. The argument is as free medicines are being provided under National Malaria Control Programme for malaria treatment, such measures need to be expanded to cover diseases like asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), diarrhoea etc. Since the treatment entails huge cost, people affected, mostly with poor economic capacity, records more mortality and morbidity, says WHO.
Significantly, the death rate in State’s southern districts (poorest in State) is quite high with over 9 per 1,000 - a rate only recorded in central Uttar Pradesh, central Madhya Pradesh and eastern plains in the North- East. Incidentally, the load of the above mentioned diseases is very high in these districts. Even, as per latest Sample Registration Survey, Odisha has the highest death rate of 8.4 in the country.