Crisis in Public Health

According to Dr. C. R. Soman, former Professor at Trivandrum Medical College, Kerala is heading towards a crisis in Public Heath. The reasons he cites are:

1. Achievements in the fields of mortality and fertility have reached a plateau
2. Immunization coverage has dropped in most districts
3. Frequent outbreaks of epidemics (insect-borne) are on the increase.
4. Natural ecology has been tampered with. The backwaters and canals are full of weeds and infested with disease germs.
5. Waste disposal is not being done properly.
6. Health Service departments are severely understaffed.
7. Distribution of drugs is totally insufficient.
8. The State Medical colleges are poor in bright young academics.
9. The State has the highest burden of heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and over-nutrition.
10. Every year, 45-50 thousand people die of heart attack and nearly 20 thousand die of stroke, whereas the toll of HIV/AIDS is only 200. But the Govt. lays more stress on the latter than the former.
11. Lack of Govt. facilities allows Private institutions to fleece the patients.
12. Students who undergo Graduate and PG courses in private medical colleges try to realize the huge amounts spent on their education through hyper-testing and exorbitant fees.
13. Medical care in the State has become dehumanized and privatized. Commodifying health-care will demolish all that the State has achieved in the past 20 years.

    Source: Culcutta.News.net

    4^th Feb 2007 (IANS)