Research on social determinants of health necessary for health equity in India

Public health care in India in the last nearly seven decades since independence has been largely through the various national health programs targeting the major health‑related problems and issues. The progress so far in improving the health indicators has also been impressive in most areas. Life expectancy has increased from 32 years at the time of independence to 65 years in 2012.[1] The reductions in maternal and infant mortality are also remarkable; maternal mortality ratio having decreased from 398/lakh live births in 1991 to 167/lakh live births in 2013 and infant mortality rate down from 140/1000 live births in 1976 to 40/1000 in 2013.[2‑4] However, the pace of decline in mortality and improvement in other indicators, which was faster in the earlier decades, has now slowed down.[5] Read more...