Global Burden of Diseases (GBD) is an indicator used by experts to gauge the number of people dying prematurely due to particular disease as well as the number of years spent by them in a state of disability owing to the disease. India bears a frightening 20 percent of the global burden of diseases.
In India, more than half of GBD is accounted for by communicable diseases such as diarrhoea, malaria and tuberculosis. Every year around five lac children die prematurely due to water-borne diseases.
This reveals the poor state of the health infrastructure in India. The public health system and facilities are not sufficient for the bulk of the population. Apart from health facilities, investment is required in efficient systems that provide sanitation and hygiene. It is also a reflection of the ineffectiveness and inaccessibility of health care programmes.