Healthcare collaborations among saarc countries: challenges and prospects

The regional organisations like SAARC can play an important role in boosting the healthcare sector in India and neighbouring countries. Health is a productivity enhancer and increase physical and mental capacities. In the underdeveloped world healthcare is considered more as a burden on state exchequer than growth enabler. There is a great scope of innovation and entrepreneurship in this sector which has to be identified and tapped by these countries. In its history of creation of more than three decades, SAARC countries are still at the nascent stage of co-operation and collaboration. The paper reviews the health status among SAARC countries, level of cooperation in healthcare sector and identifies prospective areas for further co-operation and collaboration among these countries so that these countries can put synergistic efforts together to improve their
healthcare systems and provide better healthcare and better quality of life to their citizens.