pandemic’s second wave, the images that have left an indelible impression are disturbing, to say the least. Overflowing intensive care units, empty oxygen cylinders, long queues in front of pharmacies as essential medicines witnessed huge stock-outs, a harried and overworked medical staff and dead bodies lying outside crowded morgues.
An already overburdened and creaking health infrastructure was completely broken, and all its fault lines were revealed. Now, with a lull in the numbers of those infected by covid-19 and its variants, it is imperative we find ways to fix our health infrastructure.
The Economic Survey 2020-21 observed that India ranks 179th among 189 countries in prioritizing healthcare in the government budget.