BANGALORE: The State Rural Health Mission (SRHM) has set the target of making Karnataka a "healthy State" by 2012 by providing accessible, accountable and reliable primary healthcare facilities, especially to the poor and vulnerable sections.

The State mission, which was set up under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) to monitor implementation of health schemes, held its first meeting here on Tuesday. The Centre launched the national mission on April 12, 2005. It will be in force till 2012.

The major objectives of the mission include reduction of infant mortality rate to 30 for every 1,000 live births; total fertility rate to 2.1 per cent, and maternal mortality rate to 100 for every one lakh live births. It also seeks to increase vaccination coverage and reduce deaths caused by malaria, filaria and dengue. Only 31.5 per cent of women received antenatal care services in the State in 2002.

`Bridge the gap'

Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, who is also president of SRHM, chaired the meeting and called upon the health officials and presidents of zilla panchayats to utilise the funds granted by the Centre to bridge the gap in rural health services through creation of Accredited Social Health Activists and improved hospital care. Under the NRHM, the Centre had released Rs. 104 crore in 2005-06 and Rs. 88.36 crore in 2006-07.

Nearly 40 per cent of the people who had come to his "Janata Darshan" had complained about poor health and sought financial support. Since the mission was being implemented at the district level, presidents of the local bodies should bear more responsibility in executing it. It should improve service delivery at all levels, he said.

Mr. Kumaraswamy also released a booklet on the mission. Amarjit Sinha, joint secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department, New Delhi, said the State was eligible to receive Rs. 170 crore to 180 crore in the current financial year.

Untied funds of Rs. 10,000, Rs. 75,000, Rs. 1 lakh and Rs. 5 lakh would be released each year to each sub-centre, primary health centre, community health centre, and district hospital respectively, Mr. Sinha said.

Regional imbalance

The mission's plan of action was aimed at reducing regional imbalances by relating health to determinants of good health namely sanitation, nutrition, safe drinking water; optimisation of health manpower including ayurveda, unani, siddha and homeopathy; decentralisation and district management of health programmes; community participation; and ownership of assets. Minister for Medical Education V.S. Acharya said that seven districts of north-east Karnataka had fared badly in the recently released human development index and there was need to set right the "missing links" in those districts.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail