New Delhi: The national capital has witnessed one of the sharpest improvements in healthcare access in the country over the past two decades, with hospitalisation rates more than doubling between 1995-96 and 2017-18, but nutrition imbalance and lifestyle risks continue to persist.
Findings published in the latest issue of Sarvekshana, journal of the National Statistics Office (NSO), state that Delhi’s hospitalisation rate rose from 14 persons per 1,000 in 1995-96 – below the national average of 16 – to 31 persons per 1,000 in 2017-18, exceeding the national average of 28 and marking one of the larger increases recorded during the period.
India’s overall hospitalisation rate increased from 16 to 28 persons per 1,000 over the same period due to expansion in healthcare access, public health infrastructure and insurance coverage.
The data suggest that in Delhi, the concentration index, which measures inequality in hospitalisation, dropped from 0.3002 in 1995-96 to minus 0.0895 in 2017-18 (years for which the latest data are available). This shift means substantial reduction in the rich-poor disparity in hospitalisation access over two decades.
So the NSO paper broadly concludes that healthcare inequality reduced nationally and also in Delhi as healthcare utilisation expanded across rural and economically weaker populations.
However, Delhi’s nutritional imbalance remains severe despite higher incomes and better healthcare access.
The report found severe nutritional deficiencies in Delhi’s food consumption patterns.
Delhi’s rural households consume 5.664 kg of cereals per person per month and urban households consume 6.110 kg, both below the ICMR-recommended level of 7.5 kg.
Pulse consumption remains significantly deficient, with rural Delhi recording 0.966 kg per person per month and urban households 0.865 kg against the recommended 2.55 kg. Vegetable consumption also remains less than half of recommended levels.
Rural households consume 5.887 kg per person per month and urban households 5.835 kg, against the ICMR recommendation of 12 kg.
Milk consumption was among the few nutritional indicators where Delhi met recommended standards, with rural households consuming 9.544 kg and urban households 9.983 kg per person per month, both above the recommended 9 kg.
Overall, the policy document points to an urban paradox of rising healthcare access and incomes alongside persistent nutritional gaps and growing lifestyle-related health pressures.
The report stresses the need for stronger nutritional awareness, affordable healthy food access and continued investment in equitable healthcare infrastructure to address long-term public health challenges in large metropolitan regions.
