Y ou have been vocal about India's health care sector. Can you tell us in brief the problems India face in this particular sector?

It is very difficult to pinpoint particular problems because it is a very vast subject. Recently, the World Health Organisation appointed a committee on the social dimensions of health, which was chaired by Michael Marmot.



The Marmot committee considered the health of societies all across the world. They came to the conclusion, in what was expressed almost like a slogan, that inequities are killing people on a grand scale. I think that applies to the situation in India. The promotion of equity, both in general and specifically in the area of healthcare, is something that is extremely important.



You recently said that public health infrastructure is very essential to India...



You see, health infrastructure is just one aspect. We can start with the problem of availability of portable water and sanitation. Most importantly, there is widespread malnutrition in this country.



One third of our babies are born light for date. 47 per cent of our children under the age of 5 are malnourished by weight-for-age criteria. The National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau tells us that 37 per cent of the adult population of India has a Body Mass Index of 18.5, which is indicative of chronic under-nutrition.



If you disaggregate this figure, 50 per cent of the Scheduled Tribe and 60 per cent of the Scheduled Caste and large section of the minority population, according to the Sachar Committee report, are malnourished.



So, we are living in a situation, where we are practically walking through time with famine on our side. This is a dangerous situation for the country to be in.



