India stands at 155th position in Human Development Index (HDI) 2020, on bed availability in hospitals, with only five beds per 10,000 Indians out of 167 nations.
India’s overall rank also slipped two places to 131 out of 189 nations based on the three basic scales of the HDI – education, life expectancy and per capita income.
There are only 12 more countries in far worse situations than India in terms of bed availability that was observed when the coronavirus pandemic struck. The 12 countries include Nepal, Uganda, Guatemala, Senegal, Afghanistan, Burkina Faso.
Even Bangladesh faired better than India with eight beds per 10,000 population, though it has only 5.8 doctors per 10,000 people. The country also has a higher life expectancy of 72.6 per cent and lower infant mortality rate of 26.9 per cent, compared to India with 32 fatalities per 1,000 live births.
In comparison, the 76 countries have fewer doctors per 10,000 population than India, and this includes countries with better health indices, Times of India reported.
For instance, Vietnam has fewer doctors than India, with 8.3 doctors available per 10,000 people as against 8.6 doctors. But it has 32 beds per 10,000 people as against five beds in India.
Most of the developed nations have a higher life expectancy and lower fatality rates of over 77 years as against Indian with 69.7 years. Countries with better ranks at the human development index have about 25 to 50 doctors and 25 to 35 beds per 10,000 people. Countries at mid ranks have typically about 15-40 doctors and 10 to 45 beds.
According to the report, the number of beds per 10,000 is used as an indicator of health infrastructure in general. The report stated India’s failure to expand the health infrastructure amid the pandemic.
