Health activists in the state are utterly disappointed with the health agenda of the BJP as outlined in its manifesto for the 2018 Assembly Elections. They claim that the health section of the manifesto seems more like a mere tokenism towards the end of the document and most of the promises made sound almost like a rehash of its previous agenda.
“The party has conveniently avoided making any promise on increasing the state health budget, which means that the state would continue to remain deprived of necessary funds to cater to the health needs of its 7 crore population.
The government right now spends just about 1% of its state GDP on health which is awfully low and there has constantly been a demand to raise it to at least 3 per cent,” Chhaya Pachauli of Jan Swasthya Abhiyan said.
The health activists said that major emphasis has been laid on ‘Universal Health Coverage’ by implementing insurance based model, which implies that the government is keen on expanding its flagship scheme, Bhamashah Swasthya Bima Yojana (BSBY) which is now a part of Ayushman Bharat.
As per activists there is also much stress on promoting pharma sector in the state through subsidies and incentives to attract pharma companies to invest and research in the state, which predominantly sounds like an investment and trade promotion agenda than a health agenda.
What Activists Want
Health activists said manifesto on health is thus a major disappointment in many ways. It turns a complete blind eye towards major areas of health which need greater attention such as reducing maternal mortality, infant mortality, countering malnutrition, anemia and diseases such as malaria, dengue and zika, which require more of preventive and primary health care focus than anything else, they allege.
