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Life expectancy in India is only 62 years.

India is the third strongest economy, yet it is home to 35% of the poorest people in the world.

Most fatalities are caused by preventable illnesses such as malnutrition and infections from unsafe drinking water.

(Lovett-Scott & Prather, 2014).

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In 2014, twenty-four percent of the population in India lived in shanty towns (“Population Living in Slums”).

Millions of families live in “Make-shift cardboard constructed towns that are perfect “breeding grounds for diseases, especially infections”.

(Lovett-Scott & Prather, 2014).

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Families have no access to electricity, clean water, toilets, and plumbing, all of which lead to sanitary issues (Lovett-Scott & Prather, 2014).

Most diseases circulating can be prevented with better infrastructure and plumbing.

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The number of children growing up in urban slums is increasing. Understanding their difficult situation is the first step to move forward towards helping and facilitating changes in their lives.

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India’s government fails to prioritize healthcare.

India spends$267 per capita annually for its health care which

equates to 4.7% of their GDP  (WHO, 2015).

The per capita spending in rural areas is seven times lower than urban areas.

Only five other countries in the world are worse off than India and none of them are strong economic powers.

Burundi, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sudan, and Cambodia

82% of total health expenditures come from out of pocket payments, causing a barrier to access among the poor populations.

(Lovett-Scott & Prather, 2014).

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Migration of Doctors

India has a hard time keeping doctor's due to push/pull factors.

Doctors are attracted to modern technology, medicine, and higher salaries in wealthier countries.

One million Indians die each year as a result of insufficient treatment facilities and lack of healthcare personnel.

40% of primary health centers have insufficient staffing

Sion Hospital is Mumbai’s largest medical facility which sits right near one of the largest slums in India.

At Sion Hospital, overwhelmed doctors once treated “…100,000 patients a month - more than 3,000 sick people a day” (Carr, 2015).

Quality of care decreases because doctors spend less time with patients.

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Children are affected by diseases at greater rates than adults.

Under-five mortality rate is 85 per 1,000 people.

Acute Respiratory Infection: (Selvaraj, et al., 2014)

Second leading cause of death in India

Accounts for 2.04 million deaths per year

Breastfeeding provides immunity which can reduce incidence by 30%-42%.

Handwashing can reduce incidence by 24%.

Educating families about vaccines and hygiene would reduce the mortality rate.

(Selvaraj, Chinnakali, Majumdar, & Krishnan, 2014).

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Nearly 70% of families do not have toilets at home which results in 1.2 billion people defecating in the open (Chatterjee, 2016).

Exposure to feces can result in ingestion of “bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites that cause intestinal infection” (Water, Sanitation, Hygiene, 2014).

Water contamination from feces can lead to diarrheal illnesses which take 500 lives of children each day (“India Water Crisis”).

Slums lack proper plumbing with access to drinking water.

Unsafe drinking water contributes to malnutrition which takes six million lives each year (Lovett-Scott & Prather, 2014).

Unsafe drinking water leads to bacterial and intestinal infections which are fatal.

Women’s personal health care products are discarded on the streets and with no formal trash collection, leaving locals vulnerable to diseases and infections from the care products (Worley, 2014).

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First and foremost, the inhumane living conditions need to be examined by public health officials.

By emphasizing environmental safety and healthier habits many communicable diseases can be prevented

India needs to make an attempt to keep doctors.

India should encourage the accreditation of hospitals and establish an increase to the budget so that hospitals can obtain better technology.

People living in rural areas are more vulnerable to disease and receive less funding per capita.

By implementing a requirement for all medical graduates to practice for two years in rural areas, these patients will get the medical attention that they need.

Also, this requirement will alleviate the workload of doctors in rural areas.

Telemedicine:

Telemedicine would allow doctors in different parts of the country to help Indian doctors treat patients more effectively with the resources that they have.