NCERT Class 7 Civics State Government

Role of the Government in Health

In a democracy people expect the government to work for their welfare. This could be through the provision of education, health, employment, housing or the development of roads, electricity etc. In this chapter we shall examine the meanings and problems related to health. Look at the sub-headings of this chapter. In what ways do you think this topic is related to the work of government?

What is health?

We can think of health in many ways. Health means our ability to remain free of illness and injuries. But health isn’t only about disease. You may have associated only some of the situations in the above collage with health. What we often ignore is the fact that each of the above situations is related to health. Apart from disease, we need to think of other factors that affect our health. For example, if people get clean drinking water or a pollution free environment they are likely to be healthy. On the other hand, if people do not get adequate food to eat or have to live in cramped conditions, they will be prone to illness. All of us would like to be active and in good spirits in whatever we may be doing. It isn’t healthy to be dull, inactive, anxious or scared for long stretches of time. We all need to be without mental strain. All of these various aspects of our lives are a part of health.

Healthcare in India

Let us examine some of the aspects of healthcare in India. Compare and contrast the situation expressed in the first and second columns. In order to prevent and treat illnesses we need appropriate healthcare facilities such as health centres, hospitals, laboratories for testing,  ambulance services, blood banks, etc., that canprovide the required care and services that patients need. In order to run such facilities we need health workers, nurses, qualified doctors and other health professionals who can advice, diagnose and treat illnesses. We also need the medicines and equipment that are necessary for treating patients. These facilities are required to take care of us.

India has a large number of doctors, clinics and hospitals. The country also has considerableexperience and knowledge in running a public healthcare system. This is a system of hospitals and health centres run by the government. It has the ability to look after the health of a large section of its population scattered over hundreds of thousands of villages. We will go into more detail on this later. Moreover, there has been a phenomenal advancement in medical sciences whereby many new technologies and treatment procedures are available in the country.

However, the second column points out how poor the health situation in our country is. With all the above positive developments we are not able to provide proper healthcare facilities to people. This is the paradox – something that is contrary to what we would expect. Our country has the money, knowledge and people with experience but cannot make the necessary healthcare available to all. In this chapter, we will look at some of the reasons for this.

EXERCISES

1. In this chapter you have read that health is a wider concept than illness. Look at this quote from the Constitution and explain the terms ‘living standard’ and ‘public health’ in your own words.

2. What are the different ways through which the government can take steps to provide healthcare for all? Discuss

3. ‘Improvement in water and sanitation can control many diseases.’ Explain with the help of examples.

Please refer to attached file for NCERT Class 7 Civics State Government