India is on the cusp of becoming one of the world’s leading economies. Yet one of the defining challenges of the coming decades will not be economic growth alone, it will be how effectively we keep our population healthy.
For years, health care conversations have rightly focused on expanding access to doctors, hospitals and treatment. But no country can build enough hospitals to treat its way out of poor health. The most resilient healthcare systems are those that prevent illness before it begins.
During my travels across India, meeting consumers, health care professionals and frontline teams, one observation has consistently stood out: people are increasingly taking ownership of their health. There is a growing desire to stay healthier for longer and improve quality of life, and encouragingly, this intent is translating into action. Consumers are making more conscious choices about how they care for their oral health and what they eat, to how active they remain and how quickly they respond to symptoms.
This shift matters because health outcomes are shaped long before someone visits a doctor. Increasingly, people are recognising that maintaining health is just as important as treating disease. While these actions may seem small on an individual level, collectively, across a country of more than 1.4 billion people, they have the potential to transform public health outcomes.
The need for this shift is becoming increasingly urgent. Today, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) account for the majority of India’s disease burden, impacting not only health but also productivity and economic growth. Poor health is estimated to cost India nearly $1 trillion annually.
At the same time, the Global Self-Care Federation estimates that self-care generates $119 billion in health care savings globally each year, saves 43.6 billion productive days and contributes 24 million quality life years. Together, these figures highlight a simple reality: prevention is no longer just a public health priority, it is an economic imperative.
This is why self-care represents one of India’s most important and often underappreciated public health opportunities.
The World Health Organization defines self-care as the ability of individuals, families and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health and cope with illness, with or without the support of a healthcare professional. At its core, self-care empowers people to take informed, proactive steps towards better health.
However, self-care can only achieve its full potential when it is supported by both health literacy and access.
Today, consumers have access to more health information than ever before, yet misinformation often makes it difficult to distinguish credible advice from unreliable content. Building health literacy is therefore essential. It enables people to recognise symptoms early, make informed decisions about their health and understand when professional medical intervention is needed.
Equally important is expanding access to trusted and affordable self-care solutions. Preventive healthcare can only create meaningful impact when people across geographies and income groups are able to access the information, products and support they need to manage their health confidently.
Importantly, self-care should never be mistaken for self-diagnosis or replacing healthcare professionals. Rather, it works best when individuals, healthcare professionals and health systems work together, with consumers increasingly managing routine health needs while seeking expert advice whenever required.
India is well positioned to accelerate this shift. With over 85% of households owning a smartphone, nearly 830 million internet users, and increasing adoption of wearable devices and digital health platforms, consumers today have unprecedented access to health information and personalised support. The opportunity now is to translate this access into sustained behaviour change through stronger health literacy and everyday preventive habits.
As India progresses towards becoming a Viksit Bharat, success should not be measured only by the number of diseases treated, but equally by the number of illnesses prevented, the years of healthy living gained and the quality of life improved.
Achieving this will require collective action. Policymakers must continue strengthening preventive health care initiatives. Industry must expand access to trusted and affordable self-care solutions while investing in awareness and education. Health care professionals must remain central to empowering informed decisions. And individuals must continue recognising that better health is built through consistent everyday choices.
India has an opportunity to lead this transformation. That future begins with prevention, and the first step is self-care.
(The views expressed are personal)
This article is authored by Kedar Lele, CEO, India and president, South Asia, Haleon India sub-continent.
