People's Democracy

THE first Bengal Janaswasthya (People's Health) conference has issued a clarion call for enhancing the health awareness of the people; it has also called for the formulation of a pro-people mass health policy at the national level, at an early date.

Held at the Norman Bethune Dais of the Rabindra Bhavan at Diamond Harbour, South Bengal over April 19-21, the conference was attended by 330 delegates from all over Bengal. They represented more than 70 mass organisations. The conference was held under the aegis of the Janaswasthya Chetana Prasar Samity (committee for the development of consciousness about mass health), which was formed back in 1978 for creating mass awareness about public health.

In his inaugural address, Dr N H Antia, a noted activist of the mass health movement, said that even after 55 years of independence, the Indian people remained largely bereft of even primary health facilities. He pointed out that the present union government "has seen fit to reduce budgetary allocation on health from a paltry 1.2 per cent to 0.9 per cent this year." Professor Antia said the health policy of the union government was a policy to aggravate health problems.

The health care and delivery system in India, said Professor Antia, was steadily being usurped by the private sector as the union government moved farther away from its responsibilities for organising health care for the mass of the people in the country. Things have come to such a pass that the poor are compelled to purchase drugs and health care facilities at a high premium and they often have to cut down on such essential items of life as food and shelter to cope with the high-end price regimen of drugs and medicines.

The mass health movement, said Dr Antia, assumed great importance in the context of the multinationals' in the health sector even as the union government is doing its level best to abide by the dictates of the WTO and the IMF.

In his address a long-time activist of the health and science movements and a member of the CPI(M) state committee, Sridip Bhattacharyya noted how health denoted fitness and how the mere absence of diseases itself did not mean the attainment of health. Adequate importance must be attached to the right to health and to enhancing consciousness about health, said Bhattacharyya. He also noted that the way the results of the advancement of society were always kept under tight leash by certain sections of society served to place the mass of the people in a complex and difficult situation.

In his address, health minister of the Bengal Left Front government, Dr Surya Kanta Mishra said the state government was interested in coordination with the mass health movement in order to quicken the pace of development of mass health care in the state. "Health is the birthright of mankind," said Dr Mishra, who also pointed out that, "The Left Front government has started to work on the issue of decentralising of the health care system with a view to providing relief to the financially disadvantaged people, in particular."

The conference saw the delegates speak on several important issues. The issues taken up were:

• Globalisation and mass health,
• Health priorities for Bengal,
• National health programmes and their implementation in Bengal,
• The role of health professionals and the people's expectations,
• The health infrastructure of Bengal and its maximum utilisation,
• The isue of gender discrimination, organisational matters,
• The Indian system of health care, and
• The adoption of a national policy on homoeopathy.

The conference prioritised several areas for detailed discussion. These were:

• The development of consciousness for primary health care,
• The building up of mass awareness on right to health,
• The building up an indigenous system of health care on a scientific basis along with the established western system and to compel the union government to take concrete steps in this regard,
• The establishment of the people's right on the question of essential drugs, and
• The building up of mass movements against the rampant increase in the price of drugs under the pressure of the WTO.

The conference also identified the tasks ahead. The tasks are:

• To organise programmes to highlight and popularise the concept of health education,
• To intervene (wherever possible) on questions concerning mass health and the protection of environment,
• To draw up area-wise health maps on the basis of surveys, and
• To ensure that the common health indices make progress in Bengal over the next three years.

The conference elected a new 110 member committee. Partha De is the convenor of the new committee. The convenors of the Janaswasthya Chetna Prasar Samity in each district shall be later inducted as member of the committee. The different mass organisations are well represented in the new committee. (INN)