There Is Need To Have Minimum Of 10% Allocation To Health : Indian Doctors For Peace And Development (idpd)

Feb1,2023 | Gautam Jalandhari | Ludhiana

The Indian Doctors for Peace and Development (IDPD) has expressed dismay at decrease in total allocation to health sector in the budget presented today. In the last year’s budget of 39.45 lakh crores rupees the health expenditure was Rs.86606/- crores. Which means 2.19 % of the budget.

But this year health has been allocated Rs.88956/- crores out of total budget of 45 lakh crores rupees which means 1.97 % of the budget. There is decrease 0.22% despite high inflation said Dr.Arun Mitra – Senior Vice President IDPD in the statement.

Our health budget is one amongst the lowest in the world. That is why our health indices are far from satisfactory. There is need to have minimum of 10% allocation to health if we want to meet the health needs of the people. The budget nowhere indicates better allocation of the emoluments for the doctors and other paramedical staff. The front line health workers, ASHA, Aanganwadi have not been given the status of a worker in this budget.

Their services thus have been hardly recognized.

Budgetary allocation to the National Health Mission has seen a meagre point 0.21% increased.

Budget for National AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) and STD (Sexually Transmitted Diseases) Control programme has seen an increment of 11.61 per cent – Rs. 2,622.75 crore (BE) from Rs. 2349.73 crore which was the revised estimate for 2021-22. However, if we

compared to the actual money spent in 2020-21 on National AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) and STD (Sexually Transmitted Diseases) Control programme there has been a drop of 6.84 per cent. The whole exercise to promote digital agenda instead of the infrastructure and employment of doctors in the rural health centres.

The Community Health Centres serve as the first referral centres in the public health system, and are supposed to have a surgeon, an obstetrician-gynaecologist, a paediatrician, a physician and an anaesthetist.

But statistics released by the health ministry earlier this month flagged an over 80 per cent shortfall in surgeons and paediatricians, and an over 70 per cent shortfall in physicians and obstetrician-gynaecologists. There is no plan or direction to fill these vacancies despite that number of doctors coming out every year has increased but because of lack of infrastructural facilities in the rural areas most of them opt for private sector or migrate to other countries.

There is emphasis on Public Private Partnership mode of healthcare through which money is shelved to the private sector.

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