World Population Day: India's public health is being negatively impacted by overpopulation
Here are some ways that overpopulation is influencing the nation's public health, from decreasing reproduction rates to making healthcare facilities affordable.
In India, overpopulation is a serious problem. India's population has increased from 336 million to 1.5 billion since gaining independence in 1947, raising issues with public health, poverty, infections, and healthcare access. "Overpopulation is often cited as a critical factor affecting public health in India, but this view oversimplifies the issue," stated Poonam Muttreja, Executive Director of the Population Foundation of India, in an interview with HT Lifestyle. A comprehensive strategy is required, one that prioritizes women's health, education, and empowerment above population control while bolstering family planning and reproductive health services. It is evident when examining our public health system that demand exceeds supply. To ignore the supply-side problems and concentrate just on the demand, however, would be foolish.
The human workforce is undoubtedly the most important component of any conversation on healthcare delivery, according to Dr. Gandhali Deorukhkhar, gynecologist and obstetrician at Wockhardt Hospitals in Mumbai Central. According to a 2011 survey, there are about 20 health workers for every 10,000 people in India. Of these, 31% are allopathic doctors, 30% are nurses and midwives, 11% are pharmacists, 9% are AYUSH practitioners, and 9% are other health professionals. The majority of this workforce prefers to work in places with greater infrastructure and opportunities for family life and advancement, meaning that their distribution is not ideal. The rates are generally lower in Northern and Central India's poorer regions.
It gets increasingly difficult for the nation's low-income populations to have access to quality healthcare facilities as healthcare expenditures rise. This worry is exacerbated by the nation's growing population.
Fertility rate: In 17 of 22 states, the number of births per woman has fallen below the replacement level. Data from India's decennial census and the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) indicate significant declines in fertility rates across all religious groups.
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