Behind Odisha’s quack problem
In Thakurmunda block of Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district, last week, a 62-year-old man received three doses of injections for back pain from a quack who claimed to be a doctor at the local community health centre. However, what the sexagenarian was administered was meant for livestock, not humans. The matter reached the police but the quack was let off, and within days, he found another victim and the treatment given was the same.
The tribal-dominated Mayurbhanj sits on immense natural resources and has unique bio-diversity. But it has been facing problems of socio-economic backwardness, which haunts its healthcare system. In a district where witchcraft and sorcery rule the roost, quackery is the norm. But this applies to most parts of Odisha’s rural landscape. For a state that clocked a healthy real Gross State Domestic Product rate of 10.1% in 2021–22 beating the pandemic gloom, its healthcare system continues to be besieged by numerous problems. A latest SBI economic research report hit the nail on its head.
The paper revealed that a whopping 36% of people who died in the state in 2019 were attended by untrained healthcare professionals, much above the national average of 18.3%. The reasons are not far to seek. Despite the state raising its spending, health sector has been a laggard for long. The fact that a massive 44% doctor posts across district hospitals and primary and community health centres await to be filled speaks volumes. In such a scenario, quacks have flourished and why would they not? According to the Rural Health Statistics 2019–20, the required number of surgeons, obstetrics and gynaecologists, physicians and paediatricians stood at 1,508 in rural areas of the state, against which just about 313 specialists were in position.
Not long ago, a 66-year-old man, who married at least 18 women claiming to be a doctor, ran clinics across the state, including in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. That’s how bad things are. The Odisha government has a bouquet of schemes and programmes to extend health coverage to the poor and economically weaker sections, yet the loopholes are glaring. It certainly needs fresh doses of thinking and focused intervention to resurrect the sector.