Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Pay attention to Rural India’s medical needs' that was published in Newsband

Pay attention to Rural India’s medical needs

Doctors, diagnostics and medicines are badly needed in rural India. Rural India’s health systems and the extraordinary patient load on a few referral hospitals have become evident. The news about death of several children over a short period is shocking. Medical infrastructure in rural India is so weak that sick patients are sent to apex hospitals. Inability to absorb the funds allocated, shortage of staff at primary health centres (PHCs), community health centres (CHCs) and district hospitals, lack of essential medicines, broken-down equipment and unfilled doctor vacancies are the many problems faced in villages. Health sub-centres, PHCs and CHCs meet only half the need  putting pressure on a handful of referral institutions.

An upgraded rural health system is required. There is need for scaling up of reproductive and child health care to achieve a sharp reduction in India’s deplorable infant and maternal mortality levels, besides preventing the spread of infectious diseases.

It is a tragedy that the largest state in the country has such poor health care facility. The only way to avoid such tragedy is to strengthen primary health care in the villages and better hygiene among villagers. The medical aid to children in rural areas has been a far cry over the years. Despite many reports of child mortality, the governments have been apathetic to the problems faced by rural people in general and children in particular. The government has neither resources nor manpower to provide health services on such a large scale to poor. Therefore PPP model is being adopted.

How can a limited government hospital staff treat a free flowing vast majority of patients. Both humans and resources have limited capacity. If government spends large amounts on welfare, the country might become bankrupt. Those who ruled the country for 55 years are responsible for creating a large number of poor in India and government cannot support them fully as it has to look after its fiscal condition to avoid bankruptcy when everybody would suffer enormously.

What is Modi's Government offering for India's Child Nutrition, Health-care and Education - which alone would build the foundations for a Bright India of the future? If India would spend at least 10% of GDP for Child Nutrition, Child Health-care and Child education then some benefits are bound to reach the needy. Stop all meaningless projects, just to hoodwink the masses to corner some votes, and let us resolve to build better India through caring for India's 300 million children in the age group - just born to 15.