Annual Report - National Human Rights Commission

Right to Health
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respective State’s hospitals. The State Governments have also initiated steps to enhance the
skill of medical and para-medical personnel in Emergency Medical Care. Some State
Governments have also established a computerized information system. Besides which,
the Government of India, during the Ninth Five Year Plan, had initiated a pilot
project for strengthening of emergency facilities in 18 hospitals/medical institutions in 13
States/Union Territories.
7.12 A proposal on National Highway Trauma Care Project is submitted to 12 th Finance
Commission. The project aims to up-grade and strengthening of existing hospitals alongwith
Golden Quadrilateral and North-South-East-West corridor.
B] Public Hearings on Right to Health Care
7.13 In the month of November 2003, the Commission approved a proposal received
from the Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (Peoples Health Movement-a network of 1000 NGOs
working in the health sector) to hold public hearings on Right to Health Care in five
regions of the country followed by one at the National level in New Delhi. Subsequently,
the Western Region hearing was held at Bhopal on 29-07-2004, followed by the Southern
Region at Chennai on 29-08-2004 and the Northern Region in Lucknow on 26-09-2004,
Eastern Region in Ranchi on 11-10-2004 and the North Eastern Region public hearing
was held in Guwahati on 28-11-2004. During the day-long public hearings, selected cases
or instances, wherein individuals or groups who have suffered denial of right to health
care and have not received mandated health care from a public and private health facilities
were presented. In these public hearings, the Commission brought victims, NGOs and
concerned authorities on the same platform, which helped in the resolution of individual
problems, identification of systemic problems and forging of partnerships. Over 1000
victims from marginalized sections presented their testimonies. Their complaints are being
redressed by the Commission and the concerned authorities. Systemic improvement in
health care have been suggested to all concerned authorities. The active participation
of NGOs and State Governments have contributed considerably to the success of
this programme.
7.14 The National Public Hearing was held in New Delhi on 16 th – 17 th December, 2004, in
which the civil society representatives presented structural deficiencies noted in various regional
public hearings, followed by delineation of state-wise systemic and policy issues related to
denial of health care. Special presentations were made on issues such as women’s right to
healthcare, children’s right to healthcare, mental health rights, right to essential drugs, health
rights in the context of the private medical sector, health rights in situations of conflict and
displacement, health rights in the context of the HIV/AIDS, and occupational and environmental
human rights. In addition, the National Action Plan to operationalize the ‘Right to Health
Care’ was proposed.
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