Health a socio-cultural issue in India, difficult to address it: Expert

Panaji: Health is still a socio-cultural issue in India and it is challenging to address it because of people's approaches towards medication, observed child health expert Monica Lakhanpaul at the Difficult Dialogues summit which started here today.

"People have different levels of acceptance for medication because of their socio-cultural assumptions and prejudices," said Lakhanpaul, a professor of integrated community child health at University College London-Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health.

This year's three-day summit is held on the theme: "Is India's Health a Grand Challenge?"

The conclave will cover various aspects of public health, spending by governments and the approach of people towards health.

When asked about the purpose of the summit, Surina Narula, founder and CEO of Difficult Dialogues said, "We are going to submit a ten-point set of demands to Prime minister Narendra Modi, demanding its inclusion in health-related policies. We want to sensitise more people about health and its various aspects and the summit is a part of this process".

Sridhar Venkatapuram, a UK-based researcher and lecturer at Kings College London said, "Health is still not a pressing issue in India. The Union budget mentions allocations for health sector but does not go deeper into it. We are still one of the lowest spending countries on health sector."