Book launch | Do We Care, by K. Sujatha Rao

About the book

India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Yet health is not a part of India’s ambitious development story. In fact, India’s disproportionate healthcare budget makes some of the poorer nations look better. Statistics, however, speak louder than critics: India have one of the highest numbers of women dying in childbirth and under-five mortality rates. Every year, nearly sixty million people get pushed below the poverty line due to the health expenditures that they incur. But there are a few bright spots too: India has eradicated polio and reversed the incidence of HIV/AIDS by an impressive margin. Author K. Sujatha Rao gives us a candid insider’s view of India’s health system. The book favours increasing the health budget, greater use of technology, and providing leadership and good governance. Rao argues that unless good health is prioritised as a national goal, India’s growth story will remain largely self-congratulatory.

Author

K. Sujatha Rao is former Union Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. Of her 36-year-long service as a civil servant, she spent close to 20 years in the health sector in different capacities at both state and federal levels.

Speakers

Shashi Tharoor is Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, and former Under Secretary General, United Nations. Rathin Roy is Director of National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP), New Delhi. Neerja Chowdhury is a senior journalist and commentator based in New Delhi. M.K. Venu is Founding Editor of TheWire.in. The event starts at 6:30 p.m.