Commentary
Perspective on health care in India and Libya: a short commentary
Dhastagir S. Sheriff
Abstract :
With a few years of teaching medical students and witnessing the status of medical education and health care delivery in Libya, for a decade or more, a reflection of what is happening in Libya, the country that has given respect and economic freedom to a teacher like me. The Republic of India, a South Asian country is the seventh largest nation by area, the second most populous country and the most populous democracy in the globe. One of the fundamental rights of the Indian constitution is the ‘Right to life’ which translates to “Right to Health”. India is a federal country with 29 states and eight union territories [1]. Indian health care is taken care of by the States by organizing and delivering health care and the Central Government takes responsibility for international health treaties: medical education, prevention of food adulteration, quality control in drug manufacturing, national disease control and family planning. Indian health care under the public sector is provided free to people who are below the poverty line. Indian Public Health sector caters to 18.0% of total patient care and 44.0% of total patient care. The total expenditure for health care is around 04.0% of the GDP and out-of-pocket expenses are around 69.0%. If it is calculated the cost of health care is around 1,700 Indian rupee per capita/year [2]. It is true of Libya also. It has its national health policy with free medical care and a policy to cater to the needs of the Libyan people. With the civil unrest, and a transient locally elected government, Libya finds itself in a very critical situation related to its economy and public services including public health. The hospitals built and their destruction because of the civil war lie in very demanding conditions with poor supply chains and logistics to maintain the necessary demand and supply situation. The health care personnel physicians, nurses and public health workers are competent. They have to operate in a trying condition to save lives with limited healthcare facilities in the form of drug, medicine and medical equipment.
References
1. Kasthuri A (2018) Challenges to healthcare in India - the five A's. Indian Journal of Community Medicine. 43 (3): 141-143. doi: 10.4103/ijcm.IJCM_194_18.
2. Anuradha S, Sheriff DS (2019) Health care delivery in India - SWOT analyses. International Archives of Public Health and Community Medicine. 3 (2): 024. doi.org/10.23937/2643-4512/1710024.
3. Duggal R (1991) Bore Committee (1946) and its relevance today. Indian Journal of Pediatrics. 58: 395-406.
4. Bayard R, Preeti P, Martin M (2012) Noncommunicable diseases and post-conflict countries. Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 90: 2-2A. doi:10.2471/BLT.11.098863.
El Fituri AA, El Mahaishi MS, MacDonald TH, Sherif FM (2006) Health education in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya: assessment of future needs. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal. 12 (Supp. 2): S147-S156. https://apps.who.in /iris/handle/10665/117203
Citation :
Sheriff DS (2023) Perspective on health care in India and Libya: a short commentary. Mediterr J Pharm Pharm Sci. 3 (2): 1 -3. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7864128.