Government Counters Lancet’s Lack of Accuracy Charge

Recently Lancet has criticised India’s health data transparency to which government officials have responded stating that India has a robust system of documenting births and deaths under the Registration of Births and Death Act 1969 through the Civil Registration System. They also said that more than 90% of births and deaths were registered online on the state or national portals.

The rebuttal was given after The Lancet, a global medical journal, in their editorial titled ‘India’s Elections: Why Data &b Transparency Matter’ said that while accurate and up-to-date data is essential for drafting health policy, planning and management, India has suffered huge setbacks on these lines. The editorial raised questions on India’s claim that only 4.8 lakh people died due to COVID pandemic whereas WHO and other estimates indicated numbers six to eight times higher. The report also claimed that government spending on healthcare has also fallen.

However, government officials have pointed out that health expenditure has increased over time from Rs 1,39,949 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 4,34,163 crore in 2021-22 as per the latest National Health Accounts Estimates.