Death of data india doesn’t know how most indians die making effective design of public health policy difficult

Death of data india doesn’t know how most indians die making effective design of public health policy difficult

It’s a truism to state that public policy today is heavily data-dependent. India’s no exception, with copious data being generated by its statistical system. However, it’s the quality of data that needs urgent attention as it influences the efficacy of public policy. The 2020 report on medically certified cause of deaths (MCCD) released some days ago was based on the civil registration system set up in the 19th century. The key takeaway of the report is that a mere 22.5% of the 8.1 million deaths in 2020 were medically certified.

It is an improvement over the previous year’s 20.7% but the overall proportion is low. Some populous and poor states are reporting abysmal numbers, which makes crafting a sound public health policy a matter of chance. For example, it’s 3.4% in Bihar, 6.1% in Jharkhand and 6.7% in MP. Despite infrastructural limitations, there’s scope to improve registration levels quickly. The MCCD report observed that not all hospitals report data. For instance, only 30% of Tamil Nadu’s medical institutions with in-patient facilities are covered by MCCD reporting requirements. Such gaps hamper policy making.

To illustrate, the International Diabetes Federation estimates India accounts for one in seven adults living with diabetes. But when adjusted for age, India fares better than Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. With better data, such debilitating health problems can be tackled early, improving the quality of life. All hospitals with in-patient facilities must be mandated to report MCCD. Once this is done, it will be easier to identify key weaknesses in the registration system: paucity of doctors and health facilities in rural areas or forbidding medical expenses for those seriously ill. Panchayats and grassroots medical workers can then be roped in for facilitating hospital access. Manipur leapt from 50% medically certified deaths in 2018 to 100% in 2020. Follow Manipur’s example.