National Public Hearing on Right to Health Care begins; focuses on inadequacies in the present system
New Delhi, 16 December 2004
The two-day National Public Hearing on 'Right to Health Care jointly organized by the National Human Rights Commission and Jan Swasthya Abhiyan got off to a start in New Delhi today with the Chief Guest Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss, Union Health and Family Welfare Minister stressing on the need to streamline the health care system of the country. He regretted that despite the large infrastructure existing in the country in terms of human resources and physical infrastructure, nearly 90% of India's population has no access to good health care. He lamented that the health care system in India suffers in terms of quality and to address this, the Government is trying to review the system and incorporate accountability at all levels. He also called for public/private participation. In his opinion, there is a need to stabilize India's population, as it is the main problem area in providing better health care to the citizens. He also said the Government is deliberating on a legislation against discrimination of persons affected/infected by HIV/AIDS. This, he said, is needed as children in schools, persons at work and patients in hospitals face discrimination on account of their HIV/AIDS status. He also said there is a need to address the problem of the mentally ill, to improve rural health care delivery system and to have a more structured set up in place in the area of medical education.
In his address, Dr. Justice Anand said for any country to find its due place among the civilized nations the three most important factors are: eradication of poverty, health care and education. Unfortunately, even after more than half a century of independence, our country is only at the fringe on all the three counts, he said. The situation seems even more paradoxical when we have almost the largest force of technical personnel in the world. He observed that while Indian doctors have to their credit remarkable achievements as faculty teachers and practitioners in some of the most advanced countries they have helped set up hospitals and health care in the developing countries, "yet we find the most appalling health care facilities existing for our own countrymen. This is a common lament citizens of this country share. There is something fundamentally wrong with our national priorities", he said. It is a national shame that if at all a patient can get to a hospital, he either succumbs to the disease even before he has had the most perfunctory attention or there is a trading of charges when there is death in a ward.
Laws and legislations, he said, have to address the problem in all perspectives. The judiciary on many occasions has stepped in responding to the hopes and aspirations of the common man yet despite several directions of the judiciary the state of emergency medical care in the country continues to be rather appalling. While the efforts of authorities since independence have yielded some positive results, he said there is still a long road to traverse towards the goal of 'Health for All'.
The present infrastructure is inadequate to meet the needs of mentally ill persons, which has grave implications on their human rights, he stated. There is a high burden of disease due to poverty; illiteracy and poor out-reach of health system. The out-of pocket expenses on health care of the poor have emerged as a major cause of rural indebtedness. The basic health needs of people in rural areas is yet another important area of concern.
The National Human Rights Commission, he said, has consistently taken the view that the right to a life with human dignity, enshrined in the Constitution, must result in the strengthening of measures to ensure that the people of this country, and particularly those belonging to economically disadvantaged sections of society, have access to better and more comprehensive health care facilities. He concluded by saying, he hoped that the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare would adopt a rights-based approach to strengthen public health infrastructure and other steps needed to realize the right to health care for everyone.
On the occasion, Dr. K. S. Reddy, Convenor, NHRC Core Group on Health presented the vision of the 'Public Hearing'.
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The two-day National Public Hearing on 'Right to Health Care jointly organized by the National Human Rights Commission and Jan Swasthya Abhiyan got off to a start in New Delhi today with the Chief Guest Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss, Union Health and Family Welfare Minister stressing on the need to streamline the health care system of the country. He regretted that despite the large infrastructure existing in the country in terms of human resources and physical infrastructure, nearly 90% of India's population has no access to good health care. He lamented that the health care system in India suffers in terms of quality and to address this, the Government is trying to review the system and incorporate accountability at all levels. He also called for public/private participation. In his opinion, there is a need to stabilize India's population, as it is the main problem area in providing better health care to the citizens. He also said the Government is deliberating on a legislation against discrimination of persons affected/infected by HIV/AIDS. This, he said, is needed as children in schools, persons at work and patients in hospitals face discrimination on account of their HIV/AIDS status. He also said there is a need to address the problem of the mentally ill, to improve rural health care delivery system and to have a more structured set up in place in the area of medical education.
In his address, Dr. Justice Anand said for any country to find its due place among the civilized nations the three most important factors are: eradication of poverty, health care and education. Unfortunately, even after more than half a century of independence, our country is only at the fringe on all the three counts, he said. The situation seems even more paradoxical when we have almost the largest force of technical personnel in the world. He observed that while Indian doctors have to their credit remarkable achievements as faculty teachers and practitioners in some of the most advanced countries they have helped set up hospitals and health care in the developing countries, "yet we find the most appalling health care facilities existing for our own countrymen. This is a common lament citizens of this country share. There is something fundamentally wrong with our national priorities", he said. It is a national shame that if at all a patient can get to a hospital, he either succumbs to the disease even before he has had the most perfunctory attention or there is a trading of charges when there is death in a ward.
Laws and legislations, he said, have to address the problem in all perspectives. The judiciary on many occasions has stepped in responding to the hopes and aspirations of the common man yet despite several directions of the judiciary the state of emergency medical care in the country continues to be rather appalling. While the efforts of authorities since independence have yielded some positive results, he said there is still a long road to traverse towards the goal of 'Health for All'.
The present infrastructure is inadequate to meet the needs of mentally ill persons, which has grave implications on their human rights, he stated. There is a high burden of disease due to poverty; illiteracy and poor out-reach of health system. The out-of pocket expenses on health care of the poor have emerged as a major cause of rural indebtedness. The basic health needs of people in rural areas is yet another important area of concern.
The National Human Rights Commission, he said, has consistently taken the view that the right to a life with human dignity, enshrined in the Constitution, must result in the strengthening of measures to ensure that the people of this country, and particularly those belonging to economically disadvantaged sections of society, have access to better and more comprehensive health care facilities. He concluded by saying, he hoped that the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare would adopt a rights-based approach to strengthen public health infrastructure and other steps needed to realize the right to health care for everyone.
On the occasion, Dr. K. S. Reddy, Convenor, NHRC Core Group on Health presented the vision of the 'Public Hearing'.
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