Health Problems In India

India is a cultural diversity country. Though it has lots of diversities, various foods, recreations, beautiful monuments, there are also major health problems.

Let us know what those diseases are, why they are caused and how to reduce them.

Major health problems in India

• Communicable diseases- these are diseases which spread from one person to another.

• Nutritional problem- it is caused due to lack of nutrition in the body.

• Environmental sanitation problem- these are due to poor cleanliness of the environment.

• Medical care problem- it is due to poor treatment of the diseases or lack of treatment

• Population problem- Due to increase in population, more diseases are arising.

Communicable diseases

Malaria

It is caused due to mosquito bite especially due to female Anopheles mosquito. It is examined due to enlarged liver and anaemia.

^{Malarial fever: Source- MayoClinic}

Tuberculosis

It is caused in the lungs due to bacterial infection and spreads to other people in air due to release of sputum in cough. It gradually spreads to other parts of the body infecting each organ by bacterial multiplication.

Diarrhoeal disease:

It causes an increase in mortality rates of children below the age of 5. It is the second most leading cause of child deaths. It comprises of bacterial, viral and parasitic infections. It mainly affects the small intestine and disturbs digestive cycle. As a result, it paves the way for malnutrition.

^{Causes of Diarrhoea: Source- Diarrhoea}

AIDS

It is acquired immune deficiency syndrome. It is caused due to the HIV virus. The HIV virus enters the body and attacks the white blood cells of the body. WBC is the defence system of our body. HIV virus weakens this defence system of our body and paves an entry call for all other parasites to invade our body. All the parasites cause several diseases which weakens all organs of the body. That is why AIDS is said to be a "killer disease".

^{Difference between AIDS and HIV: Source- AIDSinfo}

Nutritional problems

Protein deficiency

India ranks 15 among the leading hunger countries.

It is mainly caused in children due to lack of protein which is due to lack of proper food. It is of two types in children 1) kwashiorkor and 2) marasmus.

These two increases child mortality rates.

^{Comparison Chart: Source- FAO}

Nutritional anaemia

This is caused by pregnant women and the baby. It is due to lack of iron content in our diet. It is also due to deficiency of vitamin B12.

Xerophthalmia

It causes total blindness in the majority of the children in India. It is due to deficiency of vitamin A.

Environmental sanitation problem

The environment of India is highly polluted. Contamination of air causes airborne disease like tuberculosis, contamination of water causes waterborne diseases like malaria. Environment sanitation plays an indispensable role in controlling the further spread of an infection or disease. But unfortunately, the environment of our nation is highly contaminated which causes rapid spread of diseases.

Medical care problem

It is due to lack of drugs, improper medical equipment. This results in poor medical care and increased mortality rates. Urban areas have no proper medical facilities to cure some serious diseases.

Population problem

This is the first and foremost cause for the spread of diseases and high mortality rates. Due to overpopulation, poverty prevails paving the way for malnutrition. Economy of the labour decreases due to which he/she does not visit hospital. Increase in population causes an increase in vehicles which degrades environmental sanitation. Whenever environmental sanitation degrades, there is rapid spread of communicable disease. Thus, overpopulation comprises of all the above diseases. They all are interlinked with the population

^{Overpopulation: Source- MyIndia}

Why health problems are caused in India?

• Excess contamination of land, water and air

• Stress due to work

• Overpopulation

• Low quality of food

• Changed lifestyle

They all are interlinked with each other.

Which states of India have prominent malnutrition?

• Uttar Pradesh

• Tamil Nadu

• Jharkhand

• Madhya Pradesh

Causes for malnutrition

Poverty

Due to poverty, one cannot feed properly. So, he/she fails to acquire basic nutrition for survival. Infant mortality rates are increased due to malnutrition.

Feeding habits

Working women usually cut downs feeding to their babies at very early. This decreases immunity as well as nutrition in their baby.

Infections

Bacterial, viral, parasitic infections take away all the nutrients in the human especially children are more prone to it.

Why infant mortality rates are higher in India?

Preterm birth

It is the state where the baby dies earlier after birth. It occurs due to multiple pregnancies, blood pressure, diabetes and due to some infections.

Blood infections

If the mother has any blood infection, it will be inherited by the baby. Since the baby has low immunity during the time of birth, the baby can't resist such blood infections resulting in death of the child.

Diarrhoeal diseases

As stated above, its weakness the small intestine.

It also leads to less consumption of food. Thus, no proper nutrition is gained by the baby which leads to death of the infants.

^{Death Rates of Children: Source- ChildTrends}

Which states of India have low mortality rates?

^{Infant Mortality Rate in Kerala: Source- IndianExpress}

NFHS-1(1992-93), NFHS-2(1998-99), NFHS-3(2005-05), NFHS-4(2015-16).

Kerala is the only state in India which has low mortality rates. It is followed by Mizoram in second place and Karnataka in third place.

Which states have high mortality rates in India?

• Assam

• Odisha

• Uttar Pradesh

Infant, child and teen mortality rates

^{Infant Mortality Rates: Source- ChildTrends}

^{Death Rates of Children: Source- ChildTrends}

Measures to control health problems in India

• Population should be minimised

• Proper awareness and education should be given to the common people

• Environment sanitation should be maintained

• Pollution should be controlled

• Proper screening tests should be inculcated for disease like HIV

• Proper treatment and immunization are a must for diseases like malaria, dengue

• Infant mortality rates could be reduced by proper nutrition of pregnant health

• Poverty should be minimised

• Good quality of food is a must to maintain proper health

These are some of the common measures to control problems in India. Every citizen plays a vital role to reduce the country's mortality rates. Thus, it is the duty of each and every citizen of India in order to balance the overall health in India.