Publicly Provided Primary Healthcare Services in Rural India: Achievements, Problems and Possible Solutions

The recent decades of poverty research have convincingly shown the value of a well-functioning health system in the development process. One of the ways in which poverty manifests itself is in the vicious cycle of ill-health and low income. Many studies have documented how temporary shocks to people’s health can have long-lasting effects on their welfare when healthcare is not available at affordable costs. Acknowledging this, more emphasis is now being placed on health outcomes as a primary policy goal across the developing world. The Millennium Development Goals notwithstanding, the Government of India (GOI) has always been a keen advocate of achieving good health among the general public.