Health is a basic human right, say speakers at seminar

Former bureaucrat P.V. Ramesh addressing the seminar in Tirupati on Sunday.
| Photo Credit: K.V. POORNACHANDRA KUMAR

Speakers at the seminar on ‘Health sector in Andhra Pradesh – Social responsibility’, termed health as a basic human right of the citizens, which cannot be compromised at any cost.

The event was jointly conducted by Prajarogya Vedika, Vemana Vignana Kendram and Sri Venkateswara Medical College at the latter’s auditorium on Sunday.

Former bureaucrats Sujatha Rao and P.V. Ramesh recalled that the State’s role in safeguarding public health had remained a point of discussion ever since India’s Independence, but without any clinching result.

Mr. Ramesh criticised the State’s proposal to extend medical insurance coverage to all its citizens and wondered how it could ensure better health standards. This clearly amounts to the government shirking its responsibility.

The bureaucrat who had served as Health Secretary in the past called upon the public not to cast their vote for the parties that continued to view health as a business proposition.

“Opening up the medical education sector like the engineering colleges will only see medical graduates becoming jobless like today’s engineers”, he observed.

“Though the governments are changing in Andhra Pradesh, there is no concrete change in the health sector. It is alarming to note that the government is shirking from its responsibility and handing over health to the private sector,” Ms. Sujatha Rao noted.

She said the hospitals continued to view the medical sector as a profitable business venture and hence focussed less on improving people’s health.

Ms. Rao also slammed the decision to run 11 medical colleges under public-private partnership, shifting the responsibility of maintaining the Chittoor Government Hospital to Apollo Group and collecting crores of rupees as capitation fee from medical students and extending admission irrespective of their qualification.

SVIMS University Dean Dr. Alladi Mohan, S.V. Medical College Principal P.V. Chandrasekharan, SVR Ruia Government General Hospital Superintendent G. Ravi Prabhu, IMA national Vice-President D. Srihari Rao spoke. Prajarogya Vedika head N.V. Ramanaiah presided, while Vemana Vignana Kendram general secretary M. Nagarjuna took part.