Inequality Report 2021: India’s Unequal Healthcare Story

Published in July 2021, Oxfam India’s Inequality Report 2021 presents a comprehensive analysis of the status of health across different socioeconomic groups in India. It aims to gauge the level of ‘health inequality’ in the country. The report examines the structural inequalities in government interventions – made worse due to the Covid-19 pandemic – and presents recommendations to the Union and state governments.The report presents results of a primary survey undertaken in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Kerala, Bihar and Odisha. The objective of the survey is to determine the impact of Covid-19, particularly on people from Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Muslim communities. As many as 768 respondents were surveyed through a structured questionnaire, all of whom were or had been infected with Covid-19 between March and September 2020.This 128-page report is divided into six chapters: The Need to Examine Health Inequalities (Chapter 1); Determinants of Health: Analysing the Contributing Factors (Chapter 2); Impact of Health Interventions in India (Chapter 3); Inequalities in Outcomes of Health (Chapter 4); The Efficacy of Government Intervention–A Review (Chapter 5); and Inequality Amidst a Health Emergency (Chapter 6).