President Calls For Greater Healthcare Allocation

Fuleshwar:  Calling for allocation of more funds for the healthcare sector, President Pranab Mukherjee Sunday said the budgetary provisions were inadequate to meet the country's needs in the field.

He said the health budget has gone up from 8,000 crore in 2004-05 to around 26,700 crore in 2011-12.

"But unlike the developed countries in the world, our expenditure on healthcare is still not adequate. There is a major gap in terms of basic infrastructure for healthcare at the grassroots," the president said after inaugurating Sanjiba, a multi-speciality hospital here in Howrah district.

He lauded the National Rural Health Mission, saying it has succeeded in reaching out to villagers to some extent. "But it is not enough to close the gap in infrastructure".

He said the central and state governments alongside the local civic agencies finance only 20 percent of the healthcare expenditure.

Mukherjee said while the 12th Plan saw a rise in the estimated investment in healthcare and education, the private sector must come forward to provide quality healthcare.