Today (July 1) is Doctor’s Day in India, and, in the din of malpractice, side effects, and conflicts of interest, we often forget what a service many nameless doctors do. Look at these statistics:

The baby born today will live to be 66 years on average. In 1900, he could live to be 30.

In the beginning of the  last century, 10% of babies died before they were one year old. Today, the figure is 0.7%.

In the beginning of the twentieth century,  ten mothers died for every 1000 babies born. Today, the figure is just 1% of that, <0.1 death per 1000 births.

Almost one person in three was infected with smallpox in 1900, and of those infected one in three would die. Today, smallpox is eradicated. Many other infectious diseases like polio and  guinea-worm disease are much less common than they used to be. Seventy percent of people infected with cholera would die because of fluid loss due to diarrhea in the nineteenth century. Today, with oral rehydration therapy, less than 3% die.

Let’s give credit where credit is due.  A lot of this is due to modern medicine and its practitioners, and public health measures spearheaded by them.

Susan Vinodh Pandian

Read more:

1. Health facts

2. Top ten facts about senior health

3. AIDS statistics

4. Understanding epidemics using statistics