Life saving drugs still a distant dream
1 March 2015 12:33 AM GMT
Though, Union Health Minister JP Nadda has hailed the budget as balanced, progressive, pragmatic and pro-people, various stakeholders have raised their reservations over the budgetary allocation for the heath care sector. Talking to Millennium Post, JNU Professor Ritu Priya said: “The budget is not in the best interest of poor. The government had promised to provide at least 50 life saving drugs for free, which cannot be accomplished with this small amount of the Budget.”
“The Health Ministry had demanded a minimum Rs 50,000 crore from the Finance Ministry to expedite primary health care treatment plans for the poor. Now, how the Health Minister will fulfill those promises?” asked the NJU professor, who is associated with Centre for Social Medicine and Community Health (CSMCH) department. It’s worth mentioning that the Health Ministry and CSMCH work in tandem over policy formulations for public health care.
Notably, the present allocation is Rs 2011 crore lesser than the last year’s final outlay which was Rs 35,163 crore after cutting down from the total Rs 39,237 crore announced in the Budget 2014-15. “I have allocated Rs 33,152 crore to the health sector. I urge states to utilise their enhanced resources effectively in these areas,” Jaitley said while presenting the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha.
As an initiative to boost the public health sector in the country, the government has also decided to set up six new AIIMS-like institutes in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Assam and Bihar.
“The Health Ministry had demanded a minimum Rs 50,000 crore from the Finance Ministry to expedite primary health care treatment plans for the poor. Now, how the Health Minister will fulfill those promises?” asked the NJU professor, who is associated with Centre for Social Medicine and Community Health (CSMCH) department. It’s worth mentioning that the Health Ministry and CSMCH work in tandem over policy formulations for public health care.
Notably, the present allocation is Rs 2011 crore lesser than the last year’s final outlay which was Rs 35,163 crore after cutting down from the total Rs 39,237 crore announced in the Budget 2014-15. “I have allocated Rs 33,152 crore to the health sector. I urge states to utilise their enhanced resources effectively in these areas,” Jaitley said while presenting the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha.
As an initiative to boost the public health sector in the country, the government has also decided to set up six new AIIMS-like institutes in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Assam and Bihar.
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