Professor, Department of Health Science, University of Hartford, West Hartford, CT-06117, U.S.A.
Online published on 6 November, 2014.
To clarify the uniquely Indian problem of 800 million poor citizens (67% of India's population) in order to highlight the potential democratic solution and its worldwide implications.
Data from the World Health Organization and the United Nations Development Programme were used to divide 144 nations into 87 normal and 57 abnormal nations. Of the abnormal nations, 39 were both poor and sick by objective criteria. These 39 nations were ranked according to need for enhanced health expenditure, and the major correlates of this need were identified.
By wide margin, India leads the world in number of people in poverty and need for enhanced health expenditure. Among poor, sick nations, both need and number of people in poverty correlate strongly and positively (r >.96) with the number of universities.
Among poor, sick nations, universities have been diverting resources from the people in need. India is ideally poised to break this tradition and demonstrate the power of academic commitment to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
Democracy, Technology, Poverty, Development
