The experiences of countries across the world have demonstrated the need for government involvement in health care. Due to the poor quality of India's government health care system, diseases that have declined in many developing countries continue to be common here. Studies indicate that government spending on health care has decreased from 25% to 17% of the country's total health expenditure (both public and private) between 1991 and 2001. The annual per capita government spending in India is far below the minimum needed for essential health care in a developing country.