Book ‘Staying Alive’ lays bare India’s healthcare failures

The Story in Brief

A new book, *Staying Alive: Dispatches from the Margins* by public health physician Dr Ramani Atkuri, documents how India's healthcare system fails its poorest. The narrative mixes patient stories with data, covering issues like untreated TB, epilepsy, and lack of disability certificates. One chapter details how a migrant worker, Bhima Sahu, died after being denied TB medicine because his Aadhaar card lacked a local address.
Another shows a young man could not obtain a disability certificate because his name did not match the caste on his Aadhaar. The book challenges the notion of poor 'health-seeking behaviour', pointing instead to systemic barriers like high out-of-pocket costs and disrespect in hospitals.