By – Kris kumar ,MP :A child dies almost every two minute in Madhya Pradesh the central Indian state. This figure is alarming and highest in India. But question is that can we save them? Public health experts say it is possible to save their lives. Need is of basic facilities which is available at village level.
They say we don’t need ‘hi tech centers’ like we have in metro towns but even if we have simple health centre at every village. A basic health center, which has needed medicines and minimum facility it can help prevent about 80 – 90 % of these deaths. Now the paradox children are not dying because of lack of the center. Health Centers are there but they lack facilities, doctors and the much-needed medicine. Health system in MP particularly is pathetic. That is the reason that children not only die unnoticed in the villages of MP but even at health centers and district hospitals, which is alarming.
The solution lies in increasing facilities at the primary health centers community and district hospitals which should doctors and nursing staff who can provide services to people of the state. And MP does not lack funds. There is no dearth of money to make this happen. It is the right use of funds, which is problem. Minus corruption even the available funds are not used properly.
State gets huge funds from GOI under National Rural health mission and many international donors like United Nations agencies, Japanese Funds, Norway, UK DFID, WHO and others. The major part is spent in paying salaries, which is important; another part is spent on planning which many a times gets overdone. Supply forms third part of spend, which if digged will become encyclopedia of breaking news. Donor agencies in the state had done some work but all was creating some models that can never be replicated. Some tried to set up a hi tech reporting system, which failed at the rural parts of MP after donor withdrew. DANIDA one of the donors had invested huge amounts in strengthening health system, results started coming but the moment they withdrew, it collapsed.
UN agencies and European Commission also have done many projects in the districts, which after withdrawal of the funding have rendered useless. Ambulances provided by unfpa are now lying unused, supply of operation equipments using European Commission funds got ‘rusted’. Unicef Border District Cluster scheme failed and as border district reported more child deaths. unicef has now set up sick care new born unit set up in Guna, catering to few children, maximum about 250 in a year. More than fifty lakhs to a crore is spent on the same. Except the few lucky ones, which come there, others still continue to die in the district, block level and village level centers. Worst is that a nearby district, which was earlier part of Guna, Ashok Nagar reports worst indicators of health. But who cares? Donors do projects. Come and go, not much gets changed. Children continue to die and call for help, to save them.
Contact – kkumar.2007@yahoo.co.in