-The Hindu The Jan Swasthya Abhiyan on Monday called upon the Union Government to extend free medicine supply scheme, presently operational in a few States like Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, all over the country to reduce out-of-pocket expenditure of common people on health care. Such a scheme would especially benefit the patients deprived of any kind of treatment due to poverty. In a letter addressed to Union Health & Family Welfare Secretary...

-Frontline A study finds that institutional support alone cannot help reduce maternal mortality in India.  THE high rate of maternal mortality in India has been a cause for national concern, especially on account of the focus on reaching the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals by 2015. Although there is a growing realisation that it will be difficult to meet the MDG targets by that deadline, there is a renewed interest in the...

-The Times of India Criticized for tardy probe progress coupled with acute shortage of officers to investigate cases, the CBI got a relief in National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) scam investigations as the Uttar Pradesh government has constituted a special court for all the health scheme fraud cases. The UP government issued a notification on August 28, constituting a Special Court especially for NRHM cases in Ghaziabad. The court of Session Judge...

-IANS LUCKNOW: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday conducted raids in Uttar Pradesh as well as Gujarat in connection with the probe into embezzling of funds from the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). Raids were conducted in Ghaziabad, Lucknow and Agra as well as in Vaapi, Gujarat, CBI sources said. The action, seen as knee-jerk, comes after a severe rap by the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court on Wednesday...

-Frontline Health activists say the health chapter of the Twelfth Plan document exaggerates the role of the private sector in providing health care. The draft chapter on health for the Twelfth Five Year Plan document not only is grossly inadequate in its approach but exaggerates to unrealistic levels the role of the private sector in providing health care. It invokes the concept of universal health care (UHC), but, critics say, it...