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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | National Rural Health Mission “a minor success” by Aarti Dhar

National Rural Health Mission “a minor success” by Aarti Dhar

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published Published on Sep 15, 2011   modified Modified on Sep 15, 2011

For promising results, renewed commitment of another seven years essential

An official review of the Union Government's ambitious National Rural Health Mission has described it as a “minor success”, adding that the results have been heartening compared to past experience in public health programmes. If this promising programme is not to splutter to a stop, a renewed commitment for at least another period of seven years is essential, it says.

A report on “The National Rural Health Mission: Performance and Prognosis” by former Union Health Secretary Javid A. Chowdhury says the Mission's programmed outcomes have not been achieved, but in the past no other State programme in the health sector has achieved such radical and significant outcomes, even though the achievement is short of what was envisaged. The report has been brought out by the National Institute of Health and Family Welfare.

Broadly, public health service centres which have been dysfunctional over decades have lately shown some signs of revival. Community participation in health sector activities, that had earlier been nil, have shown some improvement. Availability of therapeutic drugs for primary health care has improved markedly. Deployment of human resources in the health sector has improved modestly, even though huge gaps still exist before the primary health care system can be said to be optimally running, the report says.

Drawing attention to discrepancies between the emoluments of accredited social health activists (ASHA) and anganwadi workers, the report says it is imperative that these be put through five modules of training and be entrusted with greater responsibilities of delivery of primary health care services at the earliest and enhanced emoluments at par with anganwadi workers.

“While they must always remain volunteers – as distinct from government functionaries – their honorarium should not be such a derisory amount. Similar voluntary workers under the Integrated Child Development Scheme – anganwadi workers – have been given an increase in their honorarium to Rs.3,000 per month. An ASHA with three years' experience is a very valuable human resource in the primary health sector where the State finds it impossible to reach through its formal organisational structure.”

Pointing out that the basic problem of inadequacy of financial resources in the health sector has never been seriously tackled, the report says per capita allocation for the health sector for 2011-12 (Rs.270 per capita) is unacceptably small. In the 12 th Plan period this will need to be increased to at least Rs.900 per capita, and to meet this norm, the health sector would require an outlay of Rs.5,40,000 crore.


The Hindu, 15 September, 2011, http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article2454690.ece


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