Deserted by Doctors, India's Poor Turn to Quacks (NY Times)

India's public health spending is among the lowest in the world — $4 a person per year, less than 1 percent of its gross domestic product, the United Nations Development Program says.

But the real problem is the lack of doctors willing to work in villages. In the absence of qualified doctors, the villagers turn to 'private' doctors aka quacks. The article quotes one such 'doctor' saying "By and large, whoever comes to me, I give them an injection," he said. "Often, tablets are better, but they want injections. If I don't give them one, they'll go to someone else. I'll lose my customer."

This needs to be big issue in the upcoming election. But not much will happen till a large number of people are trained in basic medical care and taught how to treat simple problems. These would have to be local people (not outside doctors who can't stay in rural areas). That's the only way to solve this problem.