Kerala
has established itself as a prominent outlier in India regarding health
outcomes, achieving significant gains in health indices such as high life
expectancy, low infant mortality rate, and low maternal mortality rate. This
success is often attributed to several factors, including investments in public
health infrastructure, high levels of health awareness, decentralised
governance, financial planning, high literacy rates and community
engagement.
The
erstwhile Travancore region had witnessed numerous path-breaking public health
interventions prior to Kerala becoming a state, and vaccinations were mandated
for public servants and students in the princely state. Kerala's focus on
literacy and women's education contributed to the state achieving near 100%
vaccination levels and developing a culture of personal hygiene, making this
health legacy even stronger. The World Health Organisation, while conducting a
survey in 12 countries in 2005, found that hand-washing with soap after
defecation had a prevalence of 34% in Kerala, the highest amongst the countries
surveyed. The ‘Break the Chain’ campaign during the Covid-19 outbreak, aimed at
promoting hand-washing and the use of sanitisers, only reinforced some of those
best practices. The robust healthcare system of Kerala, which is considered on
par with those of many developed countries, has been a significant factor in
its fight against Covid-19.
Kerala’s
healthcare system has undergone remarkable progress in recent years. The
state’s emphasis on providing cancer drugs at the lowest possible price and
building the infrastructure needed for world-class treatment at public
hospitals can be termed a giant leap in the health sector. Kerala holds the
distinction of conducting a robotic surgery for cancer in India’s public
sector. Other noteworthy achievements include oxygen self-sufficiency, the introduction
of Cervi Scan for detecting cervical cancer, and the rollout of the HPV
vaccination programme, aimed at protecting young girls from cervical cancer.
At
present, there are 1,280 health institutions with 38,004 beds and 5,465 doctors
under the Directorate of Health Services, including 885 Primary Health Centres,
5,415 Community Health Centres and 380 Urban Public Health Centres. Modern
medicine and AYUSH systems play an important role in providing universal access
and availability to the less fortunate sections of society in Kerala. Over the
past three and a half years, 2.5 crore people have received free treatment,
with the total value of services reaching Rs 67.8 billion.
The
State Health Department put a lot of emphasis on addressing rare diseases and
launched Kerala Against Rare Diseases (KARE) scheme to address the issue. The
initiative aims to prevent and detect rare diseases, provide the latest
therapies to individuals, and ensure home-based care and psychological support
for families.
Kerala
is making the healthcare accessible and affordable to all its residents through
innovative initiatives and state-of-the-art technologies.
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