By Deepika Khurana
The year 2019 marked many milestones in the global health. Much has happened in the health landscape in Asia in 2019 as well. We covered some of the biggest health stories in Asia – right from India and China’s role in bridging the healthcare gap in Afghanistan and sacking of Pakistani doctors in Saudi Arabia to burden of Air pollution and the tide of misinformation about HIV transmission in Indonesia. Now, as the year comes to an end, Health Analytics Asia is taking a moment to reflect on its top health stories and expert interviews from across Asia that shaped 2019.
1. Bottle of Lies exposed the scary world of generic drugs in India and China.
Indian pharmaceutical company, Ranbaxy was like a rising star of the boom in global generic medicines. What brought about the fall of Ranbaxy and its owners— Malvinder and Shivinder Singh who are also facing probes and court cases? Was Ranbaxy an industry outlier, or the tip of the iceberg? Are low-quality standards pervading the generic drug industry? Are generic drugs poisoning us? In an exclusive interview with Health Analytics Asia, best-selling author of ‘Bottle of Lies’ and investigative journalist Katherine Eban revealed the dangerous, dark side of India’s pharmaceutical industries.
2. India and China played a crucial role in bridging the healthcare gap in Afghanistan.
Access to quality healthcare still remains a challenge for war-ravaged Afghanistan. In the 10 years, since U.S. troops went into Afghanistan to fight the Taliban, thousands of lives were lost. But, many died indirectly, from the loss of healthcare facilities.
Today, the country has one of the worst healthcare systems in the world. Infact, Afghans are forced to go abroad for medical treatment. And, if official estimates are to be believed, Afghans spend an estimated $285 million every year on medical treatment abroad.
3. Biotechnology expected to be Indian economy’s next success story.
CEO Wellcome Trust DBT India Alliance Dr Shahid Jameel in a wide-ranging interview revealed that India’s market size in terms of biotechnology has gone up from $1 billion in 2005 to $11.6 billion in 2017, which still accounts to be only 2% of the global biotech business. According to him the most serious challenge to the growth of research and innovation in India is poor research culture at medical institutions and hospitals, fake news and young people doing badly at interviews despite having stellar CVs.
4. Air pollution continued to claim millions of early deaths in Asia.
Whether at the Asian Games held in Indonesia last year, 2019 Singapore Grand Prix, or the recently concluded Rugby World Cup in Japan, the alarming levels of air pollution kept everyone on tenterhooks. Counted among the top five causes of death, air pollution in Asia should be treated as a public health crisis that demands immediate action.
5. Ayushman Bharat could be India’s pathway to achieving Universal Health Coverage.
Padma Bhushan awardee and President Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) Prof. K Srinath Reddy in an exclusive interview with Health Analytics Asia spoke at length about the success of Ayushman Bharat scheme. He called it a move towards achieving universal healthcare. “We cannot call it as an accomplishment of universal health coverage,” he stated. “But, at least, we have begun the journey.”
6. Saudi Arabia sacked Pakistani doctors.
Saudi Arabia along with a few other Arab countries rejected the century-old postgraduate degree programme of Pakistan — MS (Master of Surgery) and MD (Doctor of Medicine) — making Pakistani doctors no longer eligible to work in the country. The decision not only left hundreds of highly qualified medics jobless but it also left Pakistan to face an uphill task of saving the reputation of one of its most prestigious sectors –medicine.
7. Indian doctors strongly opposed the National Medical Bill.
India is world-famous for its doctors and it produces some of the world’s best surgeons and physicians. But medical education in the country faces its own extremely pressing challenges. When India’s parliament recently passed the National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill 2019 with the aim to reform the medical education system in India, it faced opposition from the doctors and medical fraternity.
8. Singapore struggles to manage the healthcare needs of its increasingly ageing population.
Medical Director of the Heart, Stroke and Cancer Centre, Singapore Dr Michael Lim in an interview highlighted various issues revolving around Singapore’s healthcare system including the key challenges faced by its ageing population, role of general practitioners in providing primary healthcare, rise in cardiovascular diseases in Singapore and miracle breakthroughs that he’s expecting in the near future.
9. Indian Students Preferred China for Medical Education.
Medicine has been the best draw for Indian students pursuing studies in Chinese universities, attributed to lower course fee than UK and the US; and bypassing the tough entrance exam National Medical Entrance Exam Test (NEET) in India to get admission in top medical institutes. Moreover, the courses are being offered by Chinese universities in English medium and degrees are recognised by the MCI (Medical Council of India).
10. Misinformation about HIV transmission continued to contribute to HIV spread in Indonesia.
HIV epidemic stats from Indonesia are still not encouraging enough as the country witnesses around 73,000 new HIV infected patients annually – the fourth largest infection rate globally after China, India and Russia. The disease is believed to spread quickly because there is widespread misinformation about HIV transmission in the country.
