Role of electricity in building a strong healthcare system for rural India
Electricity access is a crucial enabler for constructing a sturdy and inclusive healthcare infrastructure for people across the world. A joint examination by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank these days cited that without access to electricity, many life-saving interventions can’t be undertaken. In nations together with India in which a large majority of the population still lives in rural areas, reliable power plays a crucial role in building a strong healthcare system for rural India and to provide essential services. The healthcare system of rural India which follows a three-tier structure – Sub-centres, Primary Health Centres, and Community Health Centres – carry out crucial functions together with immunization, labour and deliveries, and antenatal and neonatal care.
However, one in every Primary Health Centres in India is either un-electrified or suffers from an abnormal power supply. This, in turn, cripples the overall service delivery of the health centers, no matter having all medical equipment and important workforce at their disposal. The rural communities are going through the worst of the pandemic. The second wave brought about avoidable devastation that may be attributed to a loss of preparedness. For us to fare better in the approaching waves, it is important to apprehend how access to reliable power translates into a strong healthcare system.
In India, a lot of the coverage dialogue to date has revolved around enhancing direct elements such as expanding the community of health institutions, training the healthcare workforce, talent improvement, and financing the general healthcare infrastructure. Electricity has become never identified as a prerequisite for powerful healthcare delivery. The absence of dependable power in health centers regularly disrupt the crucial feature of medical equipment together with radiant warmers (for newborn care) and fridges which might be used for storing life-saving drugs. The latest examination on the impact of Jyotigram Yojana (JGY) – a rural electrification application supplying 24/7 power to rural non-agricultural customers in Gujarat, confirmed that the implementation of JGY significantly improved the operational capability of health centers, mainly primary health centers (PHCs) and accelerated the provision and capability of a huge variety of essential devices and equipment. Access to dependable strength, as proof suggests, can substantially enhance the healthcare delivery system.