Rural health scenario and casteism in Bihar, India: a situational analysis

Most of India’s people, and most of its poor, still live in rural India. The burden of disease and its effects are disproportionately seen in the poor, with a clear ingredient in illness and mortality. There is a crisis in rural heath scenario in India and Bihar. There is widely prevalent myth that people in rural areas have small health problems which can be addressed by a minimally staffed and equipped heath centre. This paper completely debunks this illusion. People have a bewildering diversity of problems from HIV disease, advanced tuberculosis to severe malaria, uncontrolled diabetes with a low body weight and a badly infected wound to cancer of the cervix, a B.P. of 240/140 diagnosed for the first time in life. Delayed healthcare seeking because of difficulties of physical access, dissatisfaction with non-functioning or poorly functioning public health facilities, irrational care by an unqualified practitioner have further compounded the rural health scenario. The most disturbing and alarming observation is the Casteism factor impacting the government’s rural health programs in Bihar. This paper analyzes how rural people appreciate, complain and experience health, environment and their hygiene. The study was carried out in villages of remote border district of Madhubani in Bihar with prime objectives to assess and observe the heath status and family history of the people by Survey research method. Information and data were collected by personal interview during random visits to the village with the assistance and guidance of a qualified medical practitioner.