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PMJAY has a strong potential to empower women to take decisions on their health and wipe out the gender gap in use of health services. Critically comment.

Topic: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

2. PMJAY has a strong potential to empower women to take decisions on their health and wipe out the gender gap in use of health services. Critically comment. (250 words)

Indian Express 

Why this question:

There is a large gap in the use of public services in the country. The “2018 Gender Gap Index” of the World Economic Forum and its sub-index, “Health and Survival” — India ranks 108 in the overall index and 147th out of 149 in the sub-index — shine a light on this challenge.

Key demand of the question:

One must explain how the Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY seeks to bridge the gender gap in the use of healthcare services by addressing a key constraint — healthcare costs. The challenges faced in this

Directive:

Critically comment – When asked to comment, you have to examine methodically the structure or nature of the topic by separating it into component parts and present them as a whole in a summary. When ‘comment’ is prefixed, we have to express our knowledge and understanding of the issue and form an overall opinion thereupon.

Structure of the answer:

Introduction:

In brief highlight the various problems faced by girls and women in access to healthcare.

Body:

Explain in detail as to how PM-JAY scheme aims to empower women healthcare in India

  • Cashless services through PM-JAY are helping to narrow the gender gap in availing healthcare.
  • First, families with no adult male members is one of the deprivation criteria for identifying target beneficiaries, which will help a large number of women.
  • Second, there is no cap on the size of families.

Discuss about the challenges faced in delivering the healthcare

  • there are large gender gaps in the use of cardiology and nephrology-related services. PM-JAY will need to analyse the reasons for this.
  • Some of the variation may be explained by the gender-wise difference in the prevalence of various diseases.
  • Men and women may also have varying incidence of certain diseases because of the degree of exposure to the proximate cause or an individual’s biological disposition.

Conclusion:

Conclude with way forward.

Topic: India and its neighbourhood- relations.