It is an established and accepted fact that the health of the people in a country depends on the access to a network of basic needs that includes nutritious food and health care. A conducive physical and biological environment at the place of living and work, egalitarian social relationships, emotional well being as and a peaceful social environment are all recognised determinants of health of any population. To those of us working in the field of health, it is clear that there is a significant deterioration in the conditions needed for people’s health. Read more…

Mass organisations, public health activists and civil society groups demand Delhi Govt.to declare dengue an epidemic and ensure that no hospital refuses to admit dengue patients

The tragic events culminating in the suicide of the parents of Avinash, a seven year old child who had succumbed to dengue fever, largely due to the apathy of a number of private hospitals, have laid bare the pathetic condition of health care services in Delhi.

Even a mild attempt by the Ministry of Health to suggest the primacy of public services in its draft National Health Policy receives a sharp rebuke from Niti Ayog. In a letter to the Ministry (circulated in parts of the Press a couple of weeks back), the Niti Ayog wrote: “Even though one might find it morally and ethically reprehensible – this system of two-tier care – one for those with means and a voice and the other for the voiceless and indigent will continue to exist in the short or even medium term as it would be logistically impossible to shift the majority of patient load from the private to the public sector”.