India COPD Index

India scores low in the Policy Context category, despite the existence of a national strategy for COPD and COPD guidelines. Increasing strategy implementation and adherence to guidelines would greatly improve India’s overall score. Similarly, while India has tobacco control policies in place, greater implementation and monitoring would further improve its overall score. India is among the lowest scorers in the Access and Care Coverage category, mainly due to a lack of access to treatment, diagnostics, and low universal health care service coverage. However, there are good conditions for access to telemedicine. India’s score in the Health System Characteristics category is low, compounded by a lack of conditions for health data collection and sharing. India also reports a low score in the Environmental Factors category, mainly due to high particulate matter and biomass smoke exposure, which contribute to high levels of environmental exposure to COPD risk factors. India also reports an above-average burden of COPD with a very high death rate. Given the size, developmental diversity, and mixed health care system of India it is crucial to note that these scores may not be generalisable to the whole country.

You can view the data sources for this country HERE