2024 has almost gone, but India is still facing several obstacles in the healthcare sector. Despite several developments and major improvements, the rural areas of India are especially facing several issues. Millions of people in rural India are facing severe negligence and ignorance towards quality healthcare. It is majorly happening due to the stark differences in healthcare facilities and medical professional availability between urban and rural areas.

One of the major issues faced by India's rural healthcare system is the lack of qualified and skilled professionals. Namrata Hinduja stresses that to deliver high-quality care, a personnel that is well trained is essential. To empower healthcare professionals and provide access for rural communities, the Hinduja Foundation promotes cooperation between the public and private sectors as well as civil society.

Building hospitals and supplying healthcare equities are not solely enough to improve the critical condition. In this regard, it is necessary to create a highly qualified and trained Indigenous healthcare structure to supply superior quality treatment at the community level. Since the rural population depends on healthcare services it is important to have well-trained and supported personnel.

Need of a Trained and Experienced Healthcare Individual in a Rural Area

The lack of this caliber of skilled professionals in rural regions has been a critical problem in the healthcare sector of rural India since the beginning of the era. About 3 million healthcare personnel are required in India and maximum in the rural areas according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in 2020. Most of the doctors and healthcare professionals choose to work in the urban area accessing better life and opportunities. Therefore, this leads rural healthcare centers to often remain unstaffed or have to rely on unskilled professionals leading to poor health outcomes to inadequate care.

Existing issues like restricted access to necessary services like emergency treatments, vaccines, and prenatal care are made worse by this lack of qualified staff. Furthermore, patients in rural areas are frequently forced to travel great distances for treatment due to a shortage of medical experts, which causes care delays and adds to the financial strain on families.

Educating and Retaining Healthcare Professionals in Rural Areas

However, to overcome the difficulty in the availability and absence of adequate numbers of healthcare personnel in that area, it needs a formulated program that is particularly centered on education and continuing, and for the personnel, the basic framework or what one may call the support they so much needed. The most common and primary reason why skilled and trained healthcare professionals avoid rural posting is a lack of incentive and career development and growth opportunities. To curb the issue, incentives, such as scholarships for medical students, can be provided by both public and commercial organizations in exchange for a commitment to serve in rural areas. Newly graduating physicians, nurses, and paramedics may be persuaded to work in these underprivileged areas by loan repayment plans and cash incentives for rural care.

Cooperation Between Civil Society, the Private Sector, and the Government

It is not just the government's job to develop competent healthcare personnel in rural India. Addressing this issue requires significant participation from civil society organizations and the private sector. Healthcare professionals can benefit from financial support, infrastructure development, and training program creation through public-private partnerships (PPPs). The government can engage with private healthcare facilities, medical schools, and pharmaceutical firms to develop programs that emphasize educating rural healthcare professionals and enhancing healthcare delivery in outlying areas.

Building a competent healthcare staff is crucial to bolstering India's rural health system, according to Namrata Hinduja, Member Steering Committee, Hinduja Foundation: "Providing rural communities with access to high-quality healthcare is a critical priority for India's development."

At the Hinduja Foundation, we understand that the solution to the problems rural health systems face lies in having a workforce of healthcare professionals who are properly trained and supported. We are dedicated to equipping healthcare workers to effectively serve rural communities through programs centered on infrastructure development, training, and creative healthcare delivery methods. We can build a more equitable healthcare system that doesn't leave anyone behind if we work together with the public and private sectors as well as civic society.