THE OTHER SIDE OF HEALTH

        

    We live in a world were unexpected incidents are ineluctable. Covid-19 pandemic taught us some important lessons. The rich, the poor and the most successful countries in the field of science and technology all stood helpless for a while when the pandemic outbreak occurred.  We should be thankful to the scientist and researchers who worked consistently to come up with a vaccine(s) to fight the virus. This pandemic also taught us that money, fame, age, sex, ethnicity, nationality, power, religion, politics, the knowledge of the best health insurance policy, geographical location of good hospitals etc may be of less importance, when we have to deal with such accidental virus outbreaks. 

 

    Can we be prepared in the likelihood of a similar virus outbreak in the future? What if we experience a delay or absence of vaccines to fight the virus? For us, keeping our citizens healthy should become the primary focus. Currently we are doing it by focusing on our neo-natal  mortality rate, under-5 years mortality rate, full immunization coverage, total case of notification of tuberculosis, treatment success rate of  tuberculosis, proportion of people living successfully with HIV, public health care facilities, good specialized hospitals, medicines etc. State of  Kerala came first in the health index report of 2019-20 published by the NITI Aayog (National Institution for transforming India). 

    With such exceptional care given by our health sector, we still lost many of our dear and loved ones during this pandemic. Do we need to be better prepared in the eventual likelihood of a similar virus outbreak in future? Its good when insight is given to understand the investment opportunities in health sector like hospitals, pharmaceuticals, telemedicine, medical tourism, medical insurance, diagnostics, medical equipment's etc to improve the health of our citizens. With all these effort to improve the health of our people we feel surprised to learn that, Kerala is the leading state in India, were cases of hypokinetic diseases are on rise (diabetics, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases etc). Are we missing something? 

Is it time to look into the other side of health?

    Apart from what we are currently doing to improve the health of our people can we also look to do something simple and sensible to have a long term effect on the health of our population especially our children. Can we also look to invest in children's parks, play grounds, swimming pools, gymnasiums, recreational/sports clubs etc. Can we provide ample time in our system of education to develop physical literacy among our children so as to develop fundamental fitness components like strength, endurance, speed, flexibility, coordination, agility, balance, good posture etc and also to encourage play through sport so that it becomes an investment in their health in the real sense. 

    We should not let our children experience a steady decline in their health starting in the late 20s or early 30s but rater live successfully into their 80s or 90s. As our children's move into their 30s, if their bodies are not well cared for, the effects of ageing become apparent, immunity and energy levels drop and once they reach their middle age, they will be forced to spend their valuable time fighting obesity, diabetics, hypertension, depression, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, stress, coronary heart diseases etc. Moreover, in the likelihood of a similar virus attack on them, what  will happen to our kids? 

    If education is for the all-round development of a child then its high time we provide them with enough opportunity to maintain an active lifestyle. Children who are physically active, improves their cardiovascular function, reduces obesity, eliminates depression, improves sleep, immunity, motor skills, cognitive functions etc. Extending life of citizens would not mean much, if it simply meant living more years with disease and disability. One reason why we lost our loved ones during this pandemic may be due to the sedentary lifestyle they followed during their childhood, adulthood and middle age. 

The choice is ours 

Do we want to educate our kids to be physically active during the different stages of their life, for better health? or continue to educate them on the availability of medicines, hospitals or investment opportunity in health insurance policies, for a better health ?

In the likelihood of a similar virus out break in future, to save precious lives of our young ones, lets act now. Its high time our policy makers and political leaderships with such great insight, vision and knowledge act immediately on health, in the real sense.