IMA urges Govt to enhance health allocation in budget to minimum 2.5% of GDP

New Delhi, July 6: The Indian Medical Association has demanded increased allocation of financial resources in the budget, advocating a tax-based system of health financing, the medical body said in a letter written to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday.

Indicating that government spending on health was low, the medical body said that allocations varying from 1.1 to 1.6 per cent of GDP by the various governments are among the lowest in the world. The body demanded an increased allocation of financial resources for the health sector.

Urging the Finance Ministry for this year's union budget, it further demanded that the expenditure incurred on health determinants like drinking water and sanitation should be provided separately.

"A minimum allocation for health alone should be around 2.5 per cent of the GDP, the medical body demanded.

India's overall health spending (public and private) is currently estimated to be 3.8 per cent of its GDP, lower than the low- or middle-income country's (LMIC) average health spending share of GDP of around 5.2 per cent, as per the IMA.