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Manmohan Singh launched the National Health Rural Mission, a new program to deliver health care to millions of people in rural India.
“The new programme proposes to radically overhaul the health system by giving more powers to the states and to village councils to implement healthcare plans. It aims to provide a woman in every Indian village trained as in healthcare. Particular focus will be on providing primary health care and assistance to newborns and pregnant mothers.”[via BBC News]
The government has set out on the right path by concentrating on core infrastructural issues like health care to foster economic development. Development of our immense human capital should have always been a priority and as Atanu Dey had mentioned on his fine blog, Deesha that “focus has to change from the development of rural areas to the development of rural people”. Libertarians may argue that government “interference” would in fact act as an impediment to progress but leveling the largely uneven playing field of health care is an act that only the government can undertake. The system of Medicaid and Medicare in the United States, although much in doldrums right now, has given lower income people relief in times of astronomical healthcare costs. Although healthcare is not yet expensive in India, India’s move to comply with drug patent laws and the increasing trend of world getting flatter, costs might rise in the future. As India experiences tremendous economic growth, we shouldn’t forget the “equal access to health care and education” mantra of truly developed countries.
On a sidenote, amidst the Indo-Pak cricket and the Chinese Premier’s visit, The National Rural Health Mission, funded to the tune of 65 billion rupees ($1.5bn) finds no mention in the Indian media. I got the news from BBC News. Kevin Drum reports that this is a global trend; so does that mean we shouldn’t worry. Brad Pulmer and Mathew Yglesias have some reasons.
by Patrix | on Wednesday, April 13th, 2005 at 8:00 am | 
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