A viral outbreak shows chinks in Jharkhand146;s health armour

Bundu, Ormanjhi, Namkom and Kanke blocks are just 40-odd km away from the capital, Ranchi, but an outbreak of viral fever has left over eight villagers dead here in the past month.

Bundu, Ormanjhi, Namkom and Kanke blocks are just 40-odd km away from the capital, Ranchi, but an outbreak of viral fever has left over eight villagers dead here in the past month. The last month also saw about 12 deaths due to gastroenteritis.

The spate of deaths, all due to easily curable diseases, has turned the focus on the abysmally low medicare and sanitation standards in the area. 8220;The wells we fetch water from contain slime and moss. At times we even scoop rain water from the fields. We are poor, the state Government does not care about us,8221; says an ailing Ghasu Munda. The fever has already claimed the life of his son Sukra.

Ghasu and his neighbour Ramdeni Munda have been lying at the primary health centre in Bundu since July 27. Despite repeated pleas by their relatives, no one has turned up to attend on him till now. The PHC is a dingy room with rusted beds and harried staff.

The scene is no different at Ormanjhi, Kanke or any of the 103 PHCs in the state. 8220;Most of the staff in the state8217;s hospitals and PHCs lack proper training,8221; says Dr K P Singh, a private physician. Not much of a surprise, as the Jharkhand Government spent just three per cent of its total budget outlay on health sector in 2005 against eight per cent recommended in the National Health Policy of 2002.

To add to this is the rampant corruption. The latest report of the Comptroller and Auditor General says 8220;Rs 6.46 crore was unauthorisedly withdrawn by officers last year. The treasuries also failed to exercise the checks against such withdrawals8221;.

8220;The condition of the Government hospitals is so bad that when Chief Minister Madhu Koda fell ill last month he preferred to get admitted at the private Apollo Hospital,8221; comments C P Singh, the BJP MLA from Ranchi. Singh is true to a certain extent. Even at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences RIMS, the premier hospital in Jharkhand, patients were sleeping on the floors. 8220;We have instructed the staff to do their duty, but they do not listen,8221; reasons RIMS Director N N Agrawal.

Last year, the Government set up a Sarva Swashtha Mission to provide medicare at the village level with public-private partnership. Though Tata Steel provided Rs 25 crore for the mission, the project failed to take off. The Chief Minister Khoda says the Jharkhand Government is still studying the merits and demerits of the Tata Steel project.