Villages Lack Healthcare

Despite a government requirement, many villages all over India lack proper healthcare facilities. In a village 10km from Tengoupal, Manipur, there is no proper sub center for the villagers and they must resort to using herbal medicines to take care of their sick and dying. The only remaining option is to travel 10 km to Tengoupal, where if they are lucky the PHC will be open. If it is open they may not have adequate staff to attend their needs. Even though complaints have been made the government has taken no action so far to improve the situation for these people.

The basic requirement for a PHC, according to the India public health standards for PHC (Guidelines 2006) by the Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, is that there should be 1 fully operational PHC for every 20,000 people in tribal or hilly areas and 1 PHC for every 30,000 people in plain areas. Every PHC should have 4-6 sub centres that are their referral point for the villagers or tribals. That means there should be at least 1 sub centre for every village. The PHC should be equipped with 1 doctor per 40 people per day and a permanent staff of 15 people. There should be 6 observatory beds to one PHC.  The PHC can be upgraded based on its requirements and extra staff recruited. One of the main requirements should be that it is open every day and staff is available 24×7.

You can find the details required for PHCs below:

http://mohfw.nic.in/NRHM/Documents/IPHS_for_PHC.pdf

H.Thangtinlen Daniel Mate
Daniel is from the Kuki tribal community in Manipur’s Tengnocipal village. His community is wedged in a dangerous conflict between the Indian army and a militant separatist movement. Through IndiaUnheard, Daniel wants to bring to light to what is actually happening in Manipur.

H.Thangtinlen Daniel Mate has produced 5 stories for us.

3 Responses to “Villages Lack Healthcare”

1. Dwipen says:

   May 26, 2010 at 6:14 pm

   I am happy to see such videos of citizens coming forward and highlighting the issues are grass root level. The Govt should be looking into such things instead of running for the chair.
2. jason says:

   December 3, 2010 at 9:42 am

   i am very much gladful to see such a setuation in corner.govt. should take such a inetiative step to adopt it
3. IndiaUnheard Team says:

   December 3, 2010 at 2:25 pm

   Thank you. Please keep watching and giving us your views.