NEW DELHI: The Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry has identified inadequate rural health infrastructure, particularly manpower,the biggest problem in effective implementation of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).

This was brought to the notice of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at a review meeting on the NRHM recently.

A report of the Ministry said that about 54.5 per cent of the sanctioned posts at the Community Health Centres (CHCs) were vacant and there was a shortfall of 70.2 per cent specialists.

In the case of Primary Health Centres (PHC), close to 7.5 per cent of them had no doctor, about 38.9 per cent did not have a laboratory technician and 17.7 per cent lacked a pharmacist, the report said.

At CHCs, of the sanctioned posts, about 59.4 per cent of surgeons, 45 per cent of obstetricians and gynaecologists, 61.1 per cent of physicians and 53.8 per cent of paediatricians were vacant.

According to population figures based on the 2001 Census, 20,903 sub-centres, 4,803 PHCs and 2,653 CHCs lacked infrastructure.

About 48.5 per cent of the sub-centres, 75.3 per cent of the PHCs and 92.4 per cent of the CHCs are located inGovernment buildings. The rest are located either in rented buildings or rent-free panchayat or voluntary society buildings.

As on March 2006, buildings had to be built for 68,848 sub-centres, 3,875 PHCs and 188 CHCs.

To overcome the hurdles, the Ministry has suggested reforms in medical education, such asmaking the MBBS programme more relevant to the rural context, developing a three-year programme for basic medical practice, compulsory posting of doctors in rural areas and increasing the number of trained health workers.

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