Urgent need to reform healthcare in India: NHRC
January 29th, 2010 - 4:59 pm ICT by IANSNew Delhi, Jan 29 (IANS) Pointing to stark inequalities in Indian healthcare, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Friday called for an urgent need to redesign and reform the sector.
“There is a paradoxical situation in India. On one side, we have super specialty medical centres which cater to the needs of patients requiring specialised and speedy treatment and on the other hand, a very large number of our population remains deprived of basic medical facilities and healthcare,” said NHRC member P.C. Sharma.
The NHRC Friday held a consultation meeting of health secretaries of states on illegal medical practices and healthcare facilities in tribal areas.
“Professionals and stakeholders have to minimise these poignant inequalities in healthcare and make it accessible to one and all. There is a need to promote health as a human right by launching a primary healthcare movement,” he said.
Experts at the meet opined that key aspects of the right to health are not just access to healthcare and building hospitals.
“It extends further and includes a wide range of factors like freedom from non-consensual medical treatment, safe food, safe drinking water, adequate sanitation, health related education and gender equality,” said NHRC’s acting chairperson G.P. Mathur.
The human rights body emphasised the need for preparing a national database of medical practitioners.
“Non-availability of national data of registered medical practitioners is another issue, which needs attention from the concerned authorities,” said Mathur.
Production and distribution of spurious drugs in the country was another area of concern for members participating in the meet.
- NHRC calls for a meeting on issues of illegal medicine practice - Jan 29, 2010
- WHO meet: Southeast Asian MPs focus on public health - Mar 19, 2012
- Rural MBBS course discriminatory, says NHRC - Jan 29, 2010
- 20 million need mental health care: Expert - Oct 11, 2011
- Rural India is short of 16,000 doctors - Mar 09, 2011
- India needs to focus on healthcare: Study - Jan 12, 2011
- Social schemes not reaching the needy: NGO audit - Jul 13, 2011
- Punjab bans use of cancer causing pesticides in Malwa - Apr 21, 2012
- Mental health must be compulsory in medical curriculum: NHRC - Jul 24, 2009
- NHRC to hear complaints of Gujarat's scheduled castes - May 11, 2012
- Azad invites private sector to help in health infra (Lead) - Dec 02, 2010
- States ignoring silicosis among mine workers: NHRC - Nov 07, 2011
- Apex court assails state's neutrality on gay sex - Feb 29, 2012
- Poor infrastructure prime barrier for healthcare: Study - Mar 30, 2011
- China most likely to be affected by 2011 EU herbal medicine ban - Dec 30, 2010
Tags: adequate sanitation, education and gender equality, healthcare facilities, human rights commission, indian healthcare, inequalities, medical centres, medical facilities, medical practices, national database, national human rights commission, nhrc, paradoxical situation, primary healthcare, registered medical practitioners, related education, safe drinking water, safe food, speedy treatment, tribal areas