Conditional cash transfers are necessary but not sufficient for improving health. Good government-funded health care is essential, as are schemes which address social determinants of health. The march of capitalism, with its reduced emphasis on public spending, while improving many national economies has also widened the gap between the rich and the poor. For millions of Indians, hunger is routine, malnutrition rife, employment insecure, health care expensive and livelihoods are under...

Health targets fail as they are set without strategies. The 12th Five-Year Plan should be used to look at the changes needed in the public health system. Health is currently a privilege in India. Not a right. Maternal and child health remains neglected even after countless plans, programmes and political proclamations. Every year, nearly 60,000 women die in pregnancy and childbirth, while approximately 1.7 million children less than five years of...

Focussing on population stabilisation and meeting the unmet demands of contraceptives, the mission steering group (MSG) of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) on Tuesday decided to utilise Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) for delivery of contraceptives at the homes of beneficiaries. For this, ASHAs can charge Re. 1 for a pack of 3 condoms, Re. 1 for an Oral Contraceptive Pill (OCP) cycle and Rs. 2 for an Emergency...

The strict guidelines that every civil surgeon was supposed to follow to ensure zero diarrhoea deaths in the state issued on April 30 were ignored and a no-compliance report was sent to the state office of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). The instruction list that ended with a pledge let us all take this resolution that there will be no diarrhoea deaths in our state in the days to...

Concerned over the high maternal and infant mortality rate in the country, the Centre on Wednesday launched an ambitious programme to provide free services to pregnant women for deliveries and neo-natal care, if needed, up to a month after birth. The facility will be available to all women in government health institutions in both rural and urban settings, and is expected to benefit over one crore women annually. Launching the Janani-Shishu Suraksha...