For a country that likes to believe that it is about catching up with the West or even the advanced Asian nations, India has a long way to go before it matches them on average life expectancy. An average Indian was expected to live 63.7 years in 2008, but most Asians live longer, 71.6 years.
And those in the Organisation of Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) nations live as long as 79.2 years. The Japanese live 82.7 years, the South Koreans 79.9, and the Chinese 73.1 years.
So what do these numbers tell about the health of Indians? After all, life expectancy at birth is one of the best known measures of a population's health status. In India's case, infant and child mortality rates continue to be very high, and so does maternal mortality rate, even though significant progress has been made since the 1970s, when the average life expectancy was less than 50.
Increased government intervention combined with better access to healthcare, rising living standards, better nutrition, and improved water and sanitation facilities have reduced the mortality rates at all ages. As have higher national income, improved lifestyles and increased education, notes OECD's Health at a glance, Asia-Pacific, 2010.
Overall, socio-economic status and educational background of women play an important role in life expectancy, with improvements in education and living conditions of mother contributing to infant and child survival, it adds.
India's record on maternal mortality is disappointing when compared with the Asian average as well as with the more developed Asian nations and OECD.
Maternal mortality rate, or MMR, in India was estimated at 230 deaths per 1 lakh live births, compared to the Asian average of 162, China's 38, South Korea's 18, Japan's 6 and OECD's 12.
What's worse, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia together account for about a quarter (1 lakh) of the total maternal deaths across the world. India recorded 63,000 maternal deaths in 2008. The corresponding number for China was only 6,900.
Given the poor state of women's health, it should not surprise that infant mortality rate in India is 52 per 1,000 live births, even after 51% decline in infant mortality rate between 1980 and 2008. In comparison, the Asian average has declined to 30 and that of OECD to 5.
However, the progress notwithstanding, of the 8.8 million infant death across the world, Asia-Pacific region accounted for about 2.9 million deaths in 2008. About, two-thirds of these deaths occurred in the neonatal stage. On the whole, south and south-east Asia recorded higher infant mortality while eastern Asian countries have lower rates, with causes being diarrhoea, pneumonia and undernutrition.
Again, on under-five mortality rate, India compares poorly with many of its Asian neighbours, with 69 deaths per 1,000 live births. The Asian average is 39, and that for China is 21 and Sri Lanka 15. The report notes that major causes for adult mortality are AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, injuries and unsafe sex.
The health of the nation would also depend on the spending on healthcare, both by the state and the individual. India's per-capita spending on healthcare is just $116 in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms. In comparison, Australia spends $3,448, that of OECD is $3,060 and Japan $2,751. The Asia average is $526 and that of China $259. Clearly, India needs to step up its spending on healthcare to improve the health of its people.
It is not enough to say India's annual average real growth in per-capita health expenditure during 1998-2008 at 4.6% is nearly on a par with the Asian average (4.9%). During the period, spending in China rose 9.2%. So, the Chinese have longer life expectancy.
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