Public expenditure on health has been on the increase in the past some years although it is still to catch up with the world standards. The country is likely to achieve its target of spending 2-3 per cent of GDP as public expenditure on health by 2012, if the latest statistics with the Health Department is any indication.

The public expenditure which was just 0.97 per cent in 2004-05 has gone to 1.27 per cent during 2006-07, thanks to a number of initiatives under the National Rural Health Programme which was launched in 2005. The spending went to 1.41 per cent last financial year and the target of 2-3 per cent by 2012 is not beyond reach, according to the health department sources.

Correspondingly, there have been improvements in other indicators of health also after the NRHM was launched. The maternal mortality rate which 301 (per 100,000) in 2003 has come down to 254 and the target is to reach 100 by 2012. Likewise, the infant mortality rate, institutional delivery and immunization rates also were on the increase in the last few years.

However, the experts outside the government feel that the projected target of 3 per cent of GDP also is much lower than the required level. India has one of the lowest levels of health spending in the world. While its competitor China spent 61 dollar per head on health and the government there contributed 22 dollar of it, in India only 27 dollar is spent on each citizen and the government share is just 7 dollar. As per the WHO Health Statistics, out of the total government expenditure, only 3.9 per cent was meant for health. The government spending in the total health expenditure was just 24.8 per cent while the rest 75.2 per cent was spent by the private sector.

The US keeps its 15.2 per cent of GDP for health while Japan spends 7.9 per cent of its GDP. Germany spends 11.1 per cent of its GDP on health while France earmarked 10.1 per cent of GDP for the same. Even countries like Bangladesh spent 3.4 per cent of its GDP for healthcare. It was 2.4 per cent in Pakistan and 3.5 per cent in Sri Lanka, as per the WHO report.