siliconindia | | OCTOBER 202219Few events in recent history can match the overarching and overwhelming impact of COVID-19. In its disruption of the world, the pandemic has revealed glaring pitfalls in our support systems. Healthcare has been the worst hit. Several nations have been battling acute shortages of personal protective equipment, life-saving drugs, oxygen, hospital beds and healthcare personnel. In India, an aggressive second wave fuelled by the Delta variant crippled the country's healthcare system, leaving countless citizens scrambling for hospital beds and oxygen on their own. Thousands of deaths have been attributed to the lack of timely medical aid. India's second wave has been a wake-up call to revamp our healthcare system. Digital technology can equip us with the tools to upgrade healthcare. But before this, it is crucial to scale-up our basic infrastructure.INCREASING HEALTHCARE INVESTMENTGreater public investment is needed for scaling-up health infrastructure to improve the availability of services. Unfortunately, public healthcare investment in India has consistently been one of the lowest in the world. According to the World Health Organisation, India ranks 184th out of 191 countries in terms of health spending. For 15 years, the share of India's gross domestic product spent on By Harjiv Singh, Director, Global PPE MartTHE WAY FORWARD FOR INDIA'S HEALTHCAREA serial entrepreneur, Harjiv is also the Founder of BrainGain Global, a Trustee of The Loomba Foundation, and a member of the US Advisory Council of The American India Foundation (AIF).Harjiv SinghCXOInSIGHTS
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