South Asia

The South Asia region varies enormously, with smaller countries such as Nepal included with India, with a population of over a billion people. All face similar problems of demographic transition, continued population growth and rapid development of the diseases associated with westernised, urban populations.

Challenges facing medical care

These are often superimposed on preventable problems such as infection and malnutrition in settings of both rural and urban poverty. In most countries, traditional family structures and support systems are changing rapidly and this threatens social cohesion and the future challenges of looking after a rapidly expanding population of older people. Security issues dominate the political scene in several countries, further hampering the development of education and medical care.

Medical systems vary, with government and university based tertiary care systems competing with better equipped private centres in many cities. The provision of community based care, particularly in rural areas, remains a continuing logistic challenge, particularly as the general population becomes more sophisticated in its expectations of care. Development and monitoring standards of medical care in both community and hospital settings are often patchy.