Health Policy and Perspectives in Asia

The seven countries of Asia i.e. China, Indonesia, Thailand, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India, more or less began their independent existence during the early 1950s. Further they also promoted their respective National Health promotion programmes during the same decade. However, these countries follow differential health policies particularly in terms of investment made in the health sector, which may be a major determining factor in their differential , success in this sector of social development. Among these countries for which information is available, Sri Lanka and Thailand spent 1.0 to 2.0 percent of their GNP (Gross National Product) for health programmes as against less than one percent among the remaining five Asian countries. At the micro-level investment made on medical care inthe families of these countries also showed considerable variation. In this context, Thailand and South Korea topped the list with 5 percent of their family income allotted to health programmes. It is surprising to health promotion programmes. In contrast two per cent each is spent in the rest of the Asian countries except China. In China, most of the health facilities are provided free by the Government of China. In spite of free medical care, the Chinese people spent one per cent of their family income for medical care. Thus, in the National Health Policies of these Asian countries differential investment and emphasis have been given by the government as well as the people. As you may see subsequently, China made a breakthrough in improving the quality of life of the population through effective health policies. It is because China had given high priority to health promotion programmes  in their overall development programmes as compared to other Asian countries.