Published by Oxfam India on June 2, 2022, the policy brief “The private health sector in India from the lens of Dalits and Adivasis” was written by Nitin Jadhav and Anjela Taneja, researchers with Oxfam. The policy brief highlights and analyzes the lack of access to adequate health services experienced by Dalits and Adivasis in the country. It also examines the high expenditure people from marginalised communities are forced to incur in the private health sector because of insufficient and inadequate public facilities. The brief notes that nearly 62 per cent of the country’s health infrastructure is private in nature with higher treatment costs, low presence in rural areas and longer waiting periods for treatments. Additionally, very few Dalits and Adivasis get to assume leadership roles in the health profession. This leads to various issues including financial exploitation of people from these communities and social exclusion in hospitals. Weak measures for accountability also ensure that the voices of marginalized communities remain unheard. The brief makes recommendations for ensuring equity and accountability in provision of health services...
Authors
- Pages
- 8
- Published in
- India
- Rights
- Oxfam India
Table of Contents
- Executive Summary 1
- Introduction 1
- The Evidence Dalits and Adivasis Excluded from the formal private healthcare system or left to the vagrancies of unqualified private practitioners 2
- Financial Exploitation of the poor and marginalized communities 3
- Profits leading to unethical treatment of marginalized communities 4
- Health insurance fails to benefit Dalits and Adivasis Social Exclusion of Dalits and Adivasis in private hospitals 5
- Conclusion and Recommendations 7
- A. Recommendations for ensuring equity accountability and regulation of the private health sector in India for all its citizens including those historically marginalized 8
- B. Recommendations for addressing the specific challenges faced by Dalits and Adivasis 8
- Authors Inputs from 8
