As we reflect on the progress made in 2024, it is evident that simple, pragmatic interventions hold the key to unlocking significant improvements in India’s healthcare system. While lofty goals and ambitious initiatives are valuable, the foundation for sustainable transformation lies in addressing the basics. In 2025, InOrder will continue to focus on operational efficiency, ethical governance, and empowering individuals through health literacy and self-care.
Actionable Insights from 2024
Health literacy emerged as a critical determinant of people’s health. A basic understanding of health and disease enables individuals to adopt healthy behaviors, seek timely care, adhere to medical advice, and safeguard their financial wellbeing. However, unguided learning from social media, peers, and lived experiences can lead to misinformation. Policies to improve population-wide health literacy, designed as ongoing interventions, must be prioritized to promote informed health decisions.
Factors like safe drinking water, healthy food, clean cooking fuel, housing, and sanitation play a significant role in improving health outcomes. Economic and general literacy levels profoundly impact health-seeking behavior. Policies targeting these social, economic, and environmental determinants can improve life expectancy and reduce disease burdens.
To ensure effective planning, district-level assessments of health status, needs, infrastructure, and workforce are essential. Understanding gaps in awareness, accessibility, affordability, and acceptability helps align health system investments with actual needs. Building local capacities for comprehensive assessments in both public and private sectors will optimize resource allocation.
Health systems are only as strong as their workforce. Continuous education for health professionals, particularly in public health and administrative roles, must be emphasized. Collective learning initiatives, including daily learning hours and bedside training, can keep the workforce updated and purpose-fit.
Despite regulations for medical goods, quality assurance in healthcare delivery remains inconsistent. Poor quality care accounts for two-thirds of preventable deaths. Mandating quality assurance mechanisms across healthcare providers can significantly reduce this burden.
Public health spending continues to stagnate at around 1% of GDP, despite policy aspirations to reach 2.5%. With limited fiscal space, optimizing budget use is critical. Investments in health promotion, disease prevention, and primary healthcare yield higher returns, and reducing low-value care in the private sector can improve outcomes.
The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the importance of preparedness. Strengthening surveillance systems, ensuring stockpiles of critical supplies, and investing in vaccines, diagnostics, and real-time capacity monitoring will enhance resilience against future emergencies.
The Way Forward
Strengthening India’s health systems does not require reinventing policies but ensuring effective implementation of existing ones. InOrder’s focus for 2025 will be on operational improvements, fostering ethical governance, and empowering individuals through education and self-care. By building capacities in infrastructure, workforce, and administration, we aim to pave the way for a healthier, more resilient India.
Let us commit to these actionable steps in 2025 and ensure that every intervention, no matter how basic, contributes meaningfully to the transformation of India’s health systems.
Dr. N. Krishna Reddy,
President, InOrder- The Health Systems Institute