NHRC to hold National Public Hearing on Right to Health Care
New Delhi, 15 December 2004
The National Human Rights Commission will hold a two-day National Public hearing on 'Right to Health Care' in New Delhi between 16 and 17 December 2004 in partnership with the Jan Swasthya Abhiyan. The Minister for Health and Family welfare, Dr. A. Ramadoss will inaugurate the Conference.
Over two hundred experts will participate in the two-day Public Hearing. They include senior officials from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Department of Women & Child Development, Indian Council of Medical Research, DGHS, National Institute of Health and Family Welfare and the Health Secretaries of all States and Union Territories. Over one hundred representatives of NGOs working at the grass-root level across the country on healthcare issues will also participate.
During the National Hearing, the civil society representatives will present structural deficiencies noted in the various regional public hearings, followed by delineation of state-wise systemic and policy issues related to denial of health care. This will be followed by a joint presentation of the National Human Rights Commission and the Jan Swasthya Abhiyaan on the spectrum of healthcare rights, which need to be protected, fulfilled and promoted. Union and State Government health officials are expected to respond to these presentations with a description of the steps taken by them to ensure healthcare rights, mechanisms for public monitoring and interaction with civil society organizations.
Special presentations have been scheduled on issues such as women's right to healthcare, children's right to healthcare, mental health rights, right to essential drugs, health rights in the context of the private medical sector, health rights in situations of conflict and displacement, health rights in the context of the HIV/AIDS and occupational and environmental human rights.
The National Hearing is the culmination of five regional public hearings organized by the Commission in different parts of the country. During the regional public hearing, selected cases or instances, wherein individuals or groups have suffered denial of right to healthcare, and have not received mandated healthcare from a public health facility, were presented before a panel consisting of the NHRC and the State level public health officials. Similarly, violations of health rights due to structural deficiencies in any other health facility were also presented.
The first Regional Public Hearing on the Right to Health care was held at Bhopal on 29th July 2004. Cases from Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Goa were presented in this Public hearing. The hearing from the Southern Region covering Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Pondicherry was held on 29th August 2004, while the Northern Region hearing for the States of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttranchal was held in Lucknow on 26th September 2004. On 11th October 2004, The Eastern Region hearing for the States of Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Sikkim, Orissa, and Chattisgarh was held at Ranchi and the Regional hearing for the North Eastern Region was held at Guwahati on 28th November 2004.
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The National Human Rights Commission will hold a two-day National Public hearing on 'Right to Health Care' in New Delhi between 16 and 17 December 2004 in partnership with the Jan Swasthya Abhiyan. The Minister for Health and Family welfare, Dr. A. Ramadoss will inaugurate the Conference.
Over two hundred experts will participate in the two-day Public Hearing. They include senior officials from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Department of Women & Child Development, Indian Council of Medical Research, DGHS, National Institute of Health and Family Welfare and the Health Secretaries of all States and Union Territories. Over one hundred representatives of NGOs working at the grass-root level across the country on healthcare issues will also participate.
During the National Hearing, the civil society representatives will present structural deficiencies noted in the various regional public hearings, followed by delineation of state-wise systemic and policy issues related to denial of health care. This will be followed by a joint presentation of the National Human Rights Commission and the Jan Swasthya Abhiyaan on the spectrum of healthcare rights, which need to be protected, fulfilled and promoted. Union and State Government health officials are expected to respond to these presentations with a description of the steps taken by them to ensure healthcare rights, mechanisms for public monitoring and interaction with civil society organizations.
Special presentations have been scheduled on issues such as women's right to healthcare, children's right to healthcare, mental health rights, right to essential drugs, health rights in the context of the private medical sector, health rights in situations of conflict and displacement, health rights in the context of the HIV/AIDS and occupational and environmental human rights.
The National Hearing is the culmination of five regional public hearings organized by the Commission in different parts of the country. During the regional public hearing, selected cases or instances, wherein individuals or groups have suffered denial of right to healthcare, and have not received mandated healthcare from a public health facility, were presented before a panel consisting of the NHRC and the State level public health officials. Similarly, violations of health rights due to structural deficiencies in any other health facility were also presented.
The first Regional Public Hearing on the Right to Health care was held at Bhopal on 29th July 2004. Cases from Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Goa were presented in this Public hearing. The hearing from the Southern Region covering Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Pondicherry was held on 29th August 2004, while the Northern Region hearing for the States of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttranchal was held in Lucknow on 26th September 2004. On 11th October 2004, The Eastern Region hearing for the States of Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Sikkim, Orissa, and Chattisgarh was held at Ranchi and the Regional hearing for the North Eastern Region was held at Guwahati on 28th November 2004.
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