Health research is the cornerstone of advancing public health in a country. Especially in a country like India, which has a huge population and higher disease burden, health research plays a crucial role. It not only becomes a foundation for effective policy building but also helps address global health challenges.
However, India’s health research is not on par with the country’s needs. It’s extremely weak, misaligned and underfunded. For a country which has a higher disease burden, this is a critical concern.
In this article, we delve into the current state of health research in India, its implications and potential solutions to address the growing concerns. Let’s dive in!
The current state of India’s health research
Weak health research
“India’s current research infrastructure in health is extremely weak,” says Dr Vikram Patel, the new chair of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School and co-lead of the Lancet commission on reimagining India’s health care system, in an exclusive interview with The Week.
He highlights that for a country of our size, the number of scientific research papers we publish and patents we have are very few. He attributes these low numbers to:
- Poor public health research infrastructure: Lack of well-equipped laboratories, clinical trial units, data centres, advanced technology, etc.
- Inadequate funding: The amount allocated for research is often less than half of project demands.
- Medical schools not conducting research: India’s medical schools are largely education and service centres. They have the talent which is not utilised for advancing research in the field.
- High cost of medical education: Most Indian students take loans to complete medical education. Their first concern after completing their studies is paying off the debt. As a result, they gravitate towards lucrative commercial practices rather than further study and research.
Research misaligned with actual needs
Another report by The Hindu sheds light on how India’s health research is not aligned with the country’s needs. It says, “India’s health research focus and its actual health needs are divergent.”
Neonatal conditions contribute to 14% of India’s national disease burden. However, only 2% of research is published on them. Similarly, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases contribute to 16% of the disease burden but command attention in only 5% of publications.
Other diseases like cancer, which has a 5% disease burden in India, is the subject of 22% of the country’s research publications.
The report attributes this misalignment to the market demand of high-income nations, influencing the flow of funds for research projects. Prestigious scientific journals, which are based in the Global North, publish more research on these topics. This dictates the availability of global health funding.
Why should India strengthen its health research?
Health research, especially public health research, is of paramount importance because it:
Assists in disease prevention and control
Public health research identifies and understands the causes, risk factors and patterns of diseases. This helps in preventing outbreaks and controlling the spread of diseases.
Ensures evidence-based policy-making
It enables policymakers to monitor health trends and the effectiveness of interventions to efficiently allocate resources and frame public health policies.
Promotes health equity
There’s a huge gap between urban and rural populations in accessing quality healthcare. Public health research helps address these disparities and design interventions to reduce health inequalities.
Keeps the nation prepared for public health emergencies
Public health research assists government bodies in creating effective emergency response plans during health emergencies like pandemics, natural disasters and bioterrorism threats.
Drives medical innovation
Research fosters a deeper understanding of health-related issues, driving medical innovation. It leads to the development of vaccines, treatments and medical technologies to improve health outcomes.
How can India strengthen its health research?
India has the potential to become the global leader in public health research. It has the required talent and resources. What it lacks is well-directed efforts towards advancing public health.
Here are a few steps India can make strides in health research, as suggested by The Hindu’s report:
Enhance public research infrastructure
The country needs a strong public research infrastructure to support its clinical trials, research studies and implementation of clinical medicine. All of this can be achieved by enhancing the research infrastructure, importing talent and technology and building over it.
Prioritise research on under-studied diseases
Indian health research must increase their focus on diseases which are highly prevalent in the country but are under-studied, like cardiovascular issues and respiratory diseases. It can reconsider its support for over-funded studies in cancer and use those funds for diseases having a higher global burden, like HIV/AIDS, malaria, etc.
Have well-directed research objectives
India’s public and private research funding agencies need to strategize their funding efforts based on the country’s actual needs. They must devise coherent short-, mid- and long-term objectives to advance health research.
Provide adequate funds and resources
Most health research projects in India are under-funded. Research requires infrastructure, top academics and technology and all of that needs money. So, it’s essential to provide research institutes with the required funds and resources.
Bottom line
“Our biotechnology sector is very strong. We have 1.4 billion people. We have diseases of all kinds in the country. We have this enormous network of hospitals. India should be at the forefront of medical research, but we’re not. And I think this is a very important challenge that can be fixed.”
-Dr Vikram Patel, in his interview with The Week.
