Karnataka - Bangalore   

Outlay for health sector is not encouraging: activist

Special Correspondent

The goal should be to have a vibrant health policy: Tanga

Bangalore: The budgetary outlay for the healthcare sector by successive governments in Karnataka had been inconsistent, public health activist and surgeon Sharad M. Tanga said here on Wednesday.

Speaking to presspersons, Dr. Tanga who is a member of the Karnataka AIDS Prevention Society, recalled that the health outlay in the State budget for 2002-03 was Rs. 192.46 crores (2.24 per cent of the total budget outlay) and it came down to Rs. 143.92 crores (1.32 per cent) in 2004-05 and went up again to Rs. 332.39 crores (2.45 per cent) in the 2005-06 budget. "This comes nowhere near the actual requirement when the State is facing a heavy burden of both communicable and non-communicable diseases, including HIV/AIDS," he said.

Karnataka's healthcare policy had also remained largely urban centric and inequitable and medical care had become the second most common cause of rural family debt, he said.

"The goal for the new Government in Karnataka should be to have a vibrant health policy ensuring prevention, easy access to medical service and availability of more doctors," Dr. Tanga said.

The State should increase the budgetary outlay for healthcare to around 5 per cent and raise that in phases to 8 per cent of the budget by 2010.

A public-private collaboration could be initiated to deliver super speciality services, he suggested.

A health insurance scheme with subsidy in premium for those below the poverty line, not using budget allocation for non-medical purposes like buildings and continuing the thrust to medical tourism could help, he said.

Dr. Tanga felt the political will to provide quality, affordable healthcare to all sections was lacking.

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