ANANTAPUR: A meeting conducted by Jana Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA) with political parties, trade and employees' unions and people's organisations here has urged the State Government to take steps to protect Government hospitals and health centres and strengthen the services by allocating 6 per cent of the budget to health sector.

Speakers at the meeting held on Wednesday night also condemned the attack on the doctor of Gudibanda PHC, which is to be handed over to an NGO, allegedly for questioning the "political intentions" behind the attempt. The meeting also demanded that the Government withdraw the GO issued for transfer of the PHC to the NGO.

Further, the meeting urged the MPs and MLAs in the district to stall the privatisation of the PHC.

They said the efforts of Minister for Agriculture N. Raghuveera Reddy to handover the PHC to an NGO is anti-people measure.

Sariputi Suryanaraya (TDP), Kondaiah (Lok Satta), Rayudu (CPI-M), M. Imtiaz (CITU), Krishnappa (AITUC), Nagaraju (UHEU), Peddanna Goud (AP NGOs), Veerabhadraiah (AP Govt. Doctors' Association) Nagendrababu (UTF), B. Lalithamma (Anganwadi Wokers' Union), A.G. Rajmohan (APMSRU), Bhaskar (JVV), Amarnath Reddy (Manavata), Savitri (AIDWA), Anjaiah (KVPS) and others participated.

Burden on poor

State co-convenor of JSA M. Geyanand said health services must remain in the Government sector as 85 per cent of those who avail the services are Dalits and BCs.

Social justice in health services was possible provided they remained in the Government sector. User charges were already taking the health services away from the poor, he alleged.

The meeting adopted resolutions demanding that the Government withdraw GO No. 874 as it was aimed at relieving the responsibility of hospitals' administration in the name of development societies, setting up 15 new PHCs in addition to existing 76 in the district at one PHC per 30,000 population, doubling the budget for PHCs and filling vacancies in Government Medical College here.

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