India: Healthcare in India “Traditions and Challenges”

Name: Healthcare in India – “Traditions and Challenges”

India is the second most populous country in the world, and over 65% of the population live in rural areas, an obvious challenge in healthcare provision, particularly combined with the massive disparity in wealth across the population as a whole. Access to healthcare varies hugely according to economic status and location, and the staggering variety of state, private and charitable providers complicates this picture even further. To gain an insight into these challenges, this program looked specifically at access to healthcare for people with disability, as disability does not respect the boundaries of class, caste, gender or religion. Students learned about access to healthcare in India, as well as social justice, by spending time with individuals and organizations that work to overcome the cultural stigma of disability in India, as well as meet healthcare needs.