Public-private partnerships can plug gaps in delivering rural healthcare: CII

New Delhi: Identifying gaps in public health delivery in rural areas, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) released a report on Tuesday that said that public-private partnerships (PPP) can help improve the healthcare delivery system.

The report identified areas where the private sector can help plug the gaps through partnerships.

“Healthcare delivery in India is growing at a rapid pace. However, the system continues to suffer from a variety of challenges, ranging from the government’s inability to build sufficient capacity and infrastructure; difficulty in reaching out to poor and vulnerable groups; lack of essential services; an undersized skilled workforce; and the absence of upgraded technology,” the report said.

CII said that in India access to modern modalities of treatment is confined only to cities and big towns, as a result of which 70% of the population living in rural areas gets access only to a third of the country’s hospitalization facilities. Also, over 600 million people in the country are deprived of access to affordable healthcare.