“RAISE YOUR VOICE, EACH VOTE COUNTS”

28 AUGUST 2021

THEME - NATIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH BILL

RIGHT TO HEALTH: The right to health, as with other rights, includes both freedoms and
entitlements:

• Freedoms include the right to control one’s health and body (for example, sexual and
reproductive rights) and to be free from interference (for example, free from torture and non-
consensual medical treatment and experimentation).
• Entitlements include the right to a system of health protection that gives everyone an equal
opportunity to enjoy the highest attainable level of health.

PROVISIONS RELATED TO RIGHT TO HEALTH IN INDIA:

• INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS: India is a signatory of Article 25 of the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights (1948) by the United Nations that grants the right to a standard
of living adequate for the health and well-being of humans including food, clothing, housing,
and medical care and necessary social services.
• FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS: Article 21 of the Constitution of India guarantees a
fundamental right to life & personal liberty. The right to health is inherent to a life with dignity.
• DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY (DPSP): Articles 38, 39, 42, 43, & 47
put the obligation on the state to ensure the effective realization of the right to health.

SIGNIFICANCE OF RIGHT TO HEALTH FOR INDIA:

• RIGHT BASED HEALTHCARE SERVICES: The people are entitled to the right to health
and it puts a compulsion for the government to take steps toward this.
• WIDE ACCESS TO HEALTH SERVICES: Enables everyone to access the services and
ensures that the quality of those services is good enough to improve the health of the people
who receive them.
• REDUCE OUT OF POCKET EXPENDITURE: Protects people from the financial
consequences of paying for health services out of their own pockets and reduces the risk of
people getting pushed into poverty.

CHALLENGES:

• Lack of Primary Healthcare Services: The existing public primary health care model in the
country is limited in scope.
• Even where there is a well-functioning public primary health center, only services related to
pregnancy care, limited childcare, and certain services related to national health programs are
provided.
• Inadequate Funding: Expenditure on public health funding has been consistently low in India
(approximately 1.3% of GDP).
• As per OECD, India's total out-of-pocket expenditure is around 2.3 % of GDP.
• Sub-optimal Public Health System: Due to this, it is challenging to tackle Non-
communicable Diseases, which are all about prevention and early detection.
It diminishes preparedness and effective management for new and emerging threats such as
pandemics like Covid-19.

THE NATIONAL HEALTH BILL 2009 AND AFTERWARDS

The Government of India took a landmark decision when it decided to introduce the National
Health Bill, 2009. The bill recognizes health as a fundamental human right and states that every
citizen has a right to the highest attainable standard of health and well-being. The constitution
of India, under Articles 14, 15, and 21, recognizes the right to life as a fundamental right and
places obligations on the Government to ensure protection and fulfillment of the right to health
for all, without any inequality or discrimination. The basic tenets of the Bill include the peoples'
right to health and healthcare, the obligations of the governments and private institutions, core
principles/norms/standards on rights and obligations, the institutional structure for
implementation and monitoring, and the judicial machinery for ensuring health rights for all.
The bill provides itemized lists of the obligations of the central and state governments. Chapter
III of this bill provides elaborate rights to health care, including terminal care, for everyone. A
heartening point is that the bill guarantees that no person shall be denied care under any
 circumstances, including the inability to pay the requisite fee or charges. Prompt and necessary
emergency medical treatment and critical care must be given by the concerned health care
provider, including private providers. As per the bill, the health care provider, including the
clinician, would be obligated to provide all information to the patients regarding the proposed
treatment (risks, benefits, costs, etc.) and any alternative treatments that may be available for
the particular condition/disease. There is a clause in this chapter that demands that the user
(i.e., the patient) respect the rights of the health care providers by treating them with respect,
courtesy, and dignity and refrain from any abuse or violent or abusive behavior towards them
or to the rights provided to them. The bill envisages the establishment of National- and State-
level Public Health Boards to formulate national policies on health, review strategies, and
ensure minimum standards for food, water, sanitation, and housing. These boards would also
lay down minimum standards and draw up protocols, norms, and guidelines for diverse aspects
of health care and treatment. The bill provides for elaborate mechanisms for monitoring at the
government and community levels. There is a need to have a wider discussion on the scope
and activities of these monitoring agencies and regarding dispute resolution and redressal
mechanisms listed in chapter V of the Bill.

A comprehensive Act that covers the various aspects of health care rights, delivery, and related
matters has been a pressing need in this country for a long. Several international and national
agencies, as well as the Honorable Supreme Court of India, have drawn the attention of the
Government to this issue. The Bill, once enacted, would have far-reaching consequences on
the Indian health scenario. It would demand greater levels of professionalism, standards of
care, accountability, from the care providers and, besides, ensure protection for them. The Bill
calls for greater official involvement of professional bodies like the Indian Academy of
Neurology in the health care management in this country. It is hoped that professional bodies
will carefully study this Bill and come out with suggestions and recommendations as soon as
possible.

OTHER TOPICS THAT NEEDS TO BE COVERED

 1) VACCINATION AND IMMUNIZATION
2) REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH ASPECT. Eg – Abortion & Surrogacy
3) BASIC HEALTH CARE TO THE RULAL AREA
4) DISEASES AND VACCINE. EG KALA AZAR, TUBERCULOSIS ETC
5) PLAN FOR NEXT PANDEMIC

FOR REFERENCES

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/18/india-covid-crisis-shows-public-health-neglect-problems-
underinvestment.html

https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2016.0676

https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/12/24/insights-into-editorial-public-health-act-needed-to-
keep-private-hospitals-in-check-parliamentary-panel/

https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/public-health-system-in-india

https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/national-medical-commission-act

https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/pandemic-public-health-system-rstv-big-picture/