Last year was a challenging year for the state of Kerala, when it faced a Nipah outbreak in Kozhikode and then the worst floods in a century. Kerala’s new budget – announced in 2019 – will have to factor in the learnings from these two major events.
The Nipah outbreak in early May in Kozhikode was a stark reminder of the virus’ fatality and the precautions required to be taken for infection control purposes in healthcare settings.
The outbreak infected 23 people. Only two could be saved.
Also read: How Kerala Passed the Tough Nipah Test
Barely a month after the outbreak, Nipah was declared over. Soon after, however, the floods came. Wreaking havoc in most parts of Kerala, they led to considerable loss of life and livelihoods. After the floods subsided, the health department was put on alert to look out for the spread of communicable diseases resulting from the aftermath of the deluge.
Budgetary allocations of the state
It is against this background that Kerala – while still trying to rebuild after the floods – presented its new budget.
The budget allocations for public health have seen a marginal increase from last year’s figures. But spending on health has seen an overall increased every year.
Some of the spending areas allocated in this budget include the upgradation of primary health centres to family health centres. With the increasing burden of communicable diseases, the state has decided to invest more on surveillance and public health measures.
Against this backdrop of increased focus on public health after the Nipah outbreak and the floods, concerted efforts are being made to increase health spending and focus more on disease detection and reduction.
This increased focus led to the conceptualisation and inauguration of a virology institute in the state, which became operational in the first week of February.