An underfunded, poorly managed public health system is in the spotlight after more than 60 children died in August in a public hospital in northern Uttar Pradesh, amid accusations that oxygen supplies ran out because of unpaid bills. The infants died of “perinatal asphyxia” at the newborn care unit of the hospital in the state’s Farrukhabad district between 21 July and 20 August, police said. A district magistrate on Wednesday ordered the inquiry into the deaths of the infants, after media reports linked some deaths to oxygen shortages. India spends about 1% of its GDP on public health, among the lowest in the world. Successive governments have faced criticism for not reforming the overburdened public health system which is still plagued with a shortage of doctors and dilapidated infrastructure.

Source: The Guardian September 05, 2017 03:00 UTC