Oxfam report: States reducing health inequality had fewer confirmed cases of Covid-19

Tuesday, 20 July 2021Newsdesk

India’s low spending on public healthcare systems and focus on supporting private healthcare has led to serious inequalities in access to healthcare, especially during the Covid 19 pandemic, according to a new study.

New Delhi, 20 July 2021

As per news report of The Indian Express,The Oxfam report — ‘Inequality Report 2021: India’s Unequal Healthcare Story’ — released on Tuesday says that states attempting to reduce existing inequalities and with higher expenditure on health had lower confirmed cases of Covid-19. “There are two facets to what we have found. First is states that have for the past few years been reducing inequalities, such as inequalities to access to health between the general category and SC and ST populations, have less confirmed cases of Covid – such as Telangana, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan. On the other hand, states that have had higher GDP expenditure on health, such as Assam, Bihar and Goa, have higher recovery rates of Covid cases,’’ said Apoorva Mahendra, researcher at Oxfam India and one of the authors of the report.

Source -The Indian Express