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Civil society demands improved health system in eastern India
A civil society convention was organised last week in Orissa to discuss issues related to health sector in the state. Urging the government to focus on rural areas, the charter of demands also called for checking the unbridled growth of private players and mis-utilization of public resources.
Bhubaneshwar: Around hundred representatives of civil society organizations from across the state gathered on June 10 to discuss the problems related to health sector in Orissa and prepared a Charter of Demands on health budget for advocacy with the state government.
- A speaker at the Convention/ Photo credit: Network for Social Accountability
In the backdrop of the ongoing Budget Session in the State Assembly. the convention was jointly organized by Mumbai based CEHAT, Human Rights Law Network (HRLN)- Bhubaneswar, Bharat Gyan Bigyan Samiti (BGVS) - Bhubaneswar and Network for Social Accountability (NSA) - Bhubaneswar.
Many citizen groups, academicians, students, and civil right organizations expressed their discontent on the collapsing public health scenario in the State.
Siba Dankar Mohanty, Director, Network for Social Accountability (NSA) and Prashant Raymus from CEHAT stressed on the need for proactive engagement with the state for advocating for a shift in paradigm from an unbridled expansion of private health care system to a more state sponsored regime that can be more affordable to the common citizens of the country.
Raymus provided time series data on health expenditure, social service expenditure, per capita expenditure on social sectors and rural development in Orissa and compared those with other states.
Citing examples of CEHAT’s Activities in district budget analysis on health in Maharashtra, he called for proactive civil society role in tracking public expenditure down to the level of its implementation and holding the government accountable.
Representatives from CEHAT, CYSD, BGVS, HRLN and NSA made presentations on public finance of health. This was followed by a discussion on the impact of neoliberal ethos and globalization in making health services a marketable commodity in the state and the subsequent distress of the masses.
Mohanty read out the proposed Charter of Demands compiled from the suggestions made by the civil society practitioners working in health sector in Orissa. The delegates in the convention deliberated upon the set of demands on the health sector budget and the house approved the demands for further advocacy action with the state government.
This civil society convention at this critical juncture when a new government is holding its budget session, holds a lot of significance. The major demands made by the civil society groups include demands for more allocation for the overall health sector, allocations for the strict implementation of the PCPNDT Act-1994, compliance of the Scheduled Caste and tribal Sub Plans in the health sector among others.
The convention resolved to take sincere advocacy efforts in continuously reminding the ruling political party about the promises it had made during the elections and for creating awareness among the policymakers about the demands of the people.
