State health schemes failing India’s poor
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Slum dwellers have to live in pathetic conditions at the EWS Quarters. |
By Nandita Raman
BANGALORE (Dec. 1)—Dhanalalshmi was worried. She didn’t know how to take care of her family’s daily needs because her husband was sick and was unable to work. She didn’t have a job, either.
Her children were innocently playing in their small dingy house at the EWS (economically weaker section) Quarters, unaware of the trouble their family was in.
“I have two children, and with no money to treat my husband, what will I do?” the mother told The SoftCopy.
This is the situation of the poor all over the country. There are hundreds of millions of people like Dhanalakshmi in India who find it tough to afford health care. And the reason why they do not opt for government hospitals is the lack of doctors and basic facilities there.
“I initially went to Bowring Hospital in Shivaji Nagar for my husband’s piles operation, for which they charged us Rs. 15,000, and before I could pay back the loans I took, he got sick again,” Dhanalakshmi said, looking helplessly at her ailing husband.
The night before, her husband had suddenly fallen ill and the private hospital close by charged her Rs. 300 just for a consultation.
PHC facilities poor
At EWS quarters and the neighboring slums, most people go to private clinics as the primary health centers are not up to the mark. There is just one doctor, who is practicing after retirement, and a nurse to help him.
The health center has no labs or scanning machines. The sanitation is also poor. This has put people off going there.
“Even when people come here, it is very tough to manage since we are understaffed,” said Shahina, the nurse at the health center.
The EWS quarters has poor sanitation facilities and lack of clean drinking water, which affects children’s health.
“My 2-year-old daughter keeps falling sick. She is infected with diarrhea almost every other month,” said Vennila, a resident.
During the rainy season, the people fall ill when their houses are flooded with filthy water. Lack of doctors in the primary health center forces the people to go to private hospitals.
Levius, president of the B.R. Ambedkar Youth Social Welfare Association, said, “Visiting private hospitals costs the people a lot of money, and they are forced to borrow money from moneylenders.”
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Women fill water from the single tap at the EWS Quarters, which is surrounded by filth. |
Government ‘promoting private sector’
The whole concept of primary health centers is to provide basic, affordable and accessible health care for the poor, but it is failing miserably.
“The main problem in our country is the government policies. As per the National Health Policy in 2002, the government promised to increase the spending on health care, but even in 2011 it remains at 1 percent,” said Dr. Telma Narayan of Community Health Cell in Bangalore.
She also feels that the government is unwittingly promoting the private sector.
Although the government is introducing insurance schemes to provide health cover to the people below poverty line, it is not helping. Most of the poor are not even aware of any of these schemes.
Rashtriya Swasthya BhimaYojana (RSBY), which is one of the central government schemes, covers treatment up to Rs. 30,000 only. One of the other drawbacks of this scheme is that migrant laborers are not covered by it.
Some of the other schemes, such as the state-sponsored Vajpayee Arogyasri, do not even include the poor from urban Bangalore.
RSBY consultant Nagaratna said the government is trying to create awareness by putting up posters and banners.
Dhanalakshmi was sitting at a dark corner of her room.
“We do not have proper houses to stay in and jobs to earn our living. We cannot even think of health insurance,” she said.
There are many in the country who have a similar story to tell.
For Dhanalakshmi, the biggest challenge at the moment is to get her husband back on his feet. She is unsure as to what she can do about it.
She looked up and said, “Only God can save me now.”
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