India's public spending on health is lowest in world: Azad

Noting that India's public spending on health is lowest in the world, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad today lamented that allocation to National Health Mission in first two years of 12th Plan is only 18 per cent of promised outlay and called for augmenting resources.
The Minister also said that Rs 5,500 crore have been provided by states and the Centre under the new initiative of the Ministry to provide free essential medicines to all patients visiting public health facilities.
He said 28 states and UTs have articulated the policy and have provided about Rs 3,500 crores for free drugs during the current year and NRHM has supplemented the state's efforts with about Rs 2,000 crores.

Addressing the meeting of the Mission Steering Group of the National Health Mission here today, Azad also cleared proposals for revision/new incentives related to Multi Drug Resistant TB and those related to Drug Sensitive TB in tribal and difficult areas and TB-HIV co-infected patients.
A proposal for pooling of united grants, annual maintenance grant and Rogi Kalyan Samiti grants and revision of quantum of united grants to Community Health Centres or equivalent and District hospitals was also cleared.
Besides, the proposal for streamlining Asha incentives, by providing an advance to ASHA workers be adjusted against the monthly performance so that they are able to get reasonable amount of money every month.

Incentives of existing activities have been increased, and new activities for which ASHA would get incentives have also been added.
A proposal for provision of recurring cost for the first referral units (community health centres, maternity homes, etc) under the National Urban Health Mission and another proposal for expansion of Hib vaccines in the Universal Immunisation programme as liquid pentavalent vaccine (DPT+Hep B+Hib) in 11 states from October 2014 and remaining 16 states from April 2015 was also cleared.
Minister for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Selja, Minister for Urban Development Girija Vyas, Minister for Women and Child Development Krishna Tirath, Ministers of State for Health Santosh Chowdhury and A H Khan Chowdhury, Member, Planning Commission Syeda Hameed, besides Health Secretary K N Desiraju, secretary Ayush N Sanyal and Secretary Health Research V M Katoch and Secretary Social Justice and Empowerment Sudhir Bhargava were also present.