India may be earning accolades for maintaining an impressive growth rate despite a global slowdown, but its total expenditure on health as percentage to GDP has been abysmally poor: In 2012 it was merely 4 per cent compared to poorest countries like Burundi which had around nine per cent.
Health Minister JP Nadda in a written reply in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday said the per capita Government expenditure on health in India was $18 in 2012 as compared to developed countries like Germany which had $ 3,618.
“As per World Health Statistics 2015 published by WHO, total expenditure on health as percentage of GDP in 2012 for India is 3.8 per cent as compared to Burundi 8.2 per cent, Central African Republic 3.8 per cent, Democratic Republic of Congo 3.6 per cent, Malawi 9.2 per cent and Niger 6.1 per cent,” Nadda said.
He said according to National Health Profile (NHP) of India 2015, published by the Central Bureau of Health Intelligence under the Health Ministry, the average population served per Government hospital and per Government hospital bed as on January 1, 2015 in India are 61,011 and 1,833 respectively.
“As per world health statistics 2015 published by WHO, the per capita Government expenditure on health (at average exchange rate) in India was $18 in 2012 as compared to the select developed countries like Germany ($3,618), France ($ 3,592), Japan ($ 3,932), UK ($ 3,019) and US ($ 4,153),” the Minister added.