• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Issues that matter
    • COVID-19 in India
    • Inadequate safe drinking water
    • Poor sanitation
    • Environmental health
    • Infectious disease
      • Hepatitis C
    • Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs)
    • Malnutrition
    • High infant mortality
    • Mental health
    • Sex and gender discrimination
  • Special Focus
    • Interviews
      • Exclusive Interviews
      • Readers Interviews
    • Vaccine Hesitancy
  • News
  • PandemiCast
  • Partner’s Press Office

Health Issues India

Health issues in India

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Editorial Team
  • Subscribe
  • Contribute
  • Sponsor
  • Contact Us
You are here: Home / Access to Healthcare / Cancer’s impact on health and wallets

Cancer’s impact on health and wallets

July 15, 2017 By Nicholas Parry Leave a Comment

World Health Organization (WHO) projections suggest that by 2030 India’s cumulative number of deaths due to cancer as of this year will number 13.1 million. This is a considerable figure and will place a vast strain on the healthcare expenditure of the country, as a large portion of expenditure is out of pocket.  The financing of cancer care is often left to the patient.

As life expectancies rise, cancer has become more prevalent in India. An estimated 12.5 lakh (1.25 million) new cases are diagnosed each year, with an average of around 28 lakh (2.8 million) patients living with the condition at any given time. This is a massive strain on the healthcare system in terms of both resources and funding.

Public expenditure on cancer care in India is less than $10 USD per person (as a total of the whole population, not just those with cancer). This is compared to a much higher figure of an excess of $100 USD in high income countries. Out of pocket payments for cancer care in India account for three quarters of cancer expenditure according to a paper published in The Lancet.

The implication is that due to low funding provided for cancer patients, the vast majority of the expenditure in India is provided by the patients and their families. This, as with many cases of out of pocket medical expenditure, places a patient in a situation where they could be faced with either the worsening of their condition, or poverty.

India faces a vicious cycle in which poverty exacerbates the conditions in which an NCD such as cancer may arise through factors such as poor diet or lack of prior medical access. The treatment of these NCDs then pushes many further into poverty. 55 million Indians were pushed into poverty due to health expenditures in the 2011-2012 period. More still paid for medical treatments with bank assistance, this can create a huge amount of debt that, due to interest rates, may never be paid back.

This is a situation that may only be resolved by an increase in government healthcare expenditure. Estimates currently place the burden of NCDs and the cost they will incur in India to be $6.2 trillion USD over the 2012-2030 period, cancer forms a large portion of this sum. Without a suitable increase in government expenditure, this burden falls to the patients.

In the 2017 Union budget, an increase in health spending was promised:  a rise to 2.5 percent of GDP (a full percentage higher than current spending levels). Even with the proposed increase, health spending levels would still be lower than the global average. NCDs are on the rise in India, and unless properly addressed could spiral out of control and put an extreme burden on both Indian hospitals and the patient’s finances in the years to come.

Filed Under: Access to Healthcare, Featured, Government policy, Medicine and Research, National, Social issues Tagged With: cancer, Healthcare, healthcare spending

About Nicholas Parry

Nicholas Parry has a Bachelor of Science in genetics from the University of Sheffield and a Master of Research in neuroscience from the University of Nottingham. He has been a featured writer for Health Issues since 2016. He is based in South Wales.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Articles

  • Renewed fears of a bird flu pandemic; The latest health stories from around the world
  • More oversight needed for “gain of function” research says expert panel; The latest health stories from around the world
  • Marion Biotech to be investigated by Indian drug regulator
  • Sesame to be added to list of major food allergens
  • Approval of Alzheimer’s drug “rife with irregularities”

Footer

Archives

Issues that matter

  • Environmental health
  • Inadequate safe drinking water
  • Poor sanitation
  • Infectious disease
  • Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs)
  • Malnutrition
  • High infant mortality

Categories

Copyright © 2023 · News Pro On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However you may visit Cookie Settings to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie settingsACCEPTACCEPT ALL
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.