The Hindu : New Delhi News : Cut in AIIMS budget criticised

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Wednesday, Mar 05, 2008
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New Delhi

Cut in AIIMS budget criticised

Staff Reporter

“Govt. encouraging private profit at the cost of public money”

NEW DELHI: Describing the allocation for health in the Union Budget 2008-09 as a big disappointment, the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences Front for Social Consciousness has criticised the decrease in the budget for AIIMS even while there had been an “increase in the allocation for other major Central Government hospitals”.

According to the Front, the budget defied the Government’s own commitment, spelt out in the National Common Minimum Programme and the National Health Policy-2002, to increase expenditure on health to 3 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product.

The Front said even if it included the increase of 15 per cent over the previous year’s allocation, the total health budget would amount to barely 1 per cent of the GDP as against the World Health Organisation’s recommendation of spending 5 per cent for the developing countries.

Tax holiday

While the Government has announced a tax holiday for five years for the corporate hospitals, it has simultaneously slashed the budget of those public health institutions like AIIMS that can compete with the corporate hospitals.

Accusing the Government of increasing commercialisation of health care, the Front said the Government was encouraging private profit at the cost of public money in the name of public-private partnership: “There is every reason to believe this to be part of a design of the Government to push AIIMS towards generating its own resources and thereby increasingly diminishing its public role.”

Pointing out that AIIMS was the country’s premier medical institute, the Front said it was, however, sad that of the money allocated to AIIMS a very small part is actually spent on patient care and medical research.

Cautioning that the move to cut down the funds for AIIMS would destroy its public character, the Front has demanded that the Government increase the overall budgetary allocation for health. It wants that the budgetary allocation for AIIMS should provide for increased spending on patient care and medical research in accordance with the objectives of the Institute as a premier centre for medical education, research and quality patient care.

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