Jaipur, People want to go to nearby Primary Health Centres, but factors like unavailability of staff and treatment affordability often push them to district hospitals or private facilities. This will only change when people demand their rights and better facilities in nearby health centres. These views were expressed by Rajendra Bhanawat, retired IAS officer, during the state-level project inception meeting organised by CUTS at Jaipur.
The meeting brought together health professionals, civil society representatives, and academic institutions to discuss strategies for a project to be implemented by CUTS for ‘Improving Access to Quality Health Services through Community Engagement in Pratapgarh and Banswara districts, Rajasthan’. The project focuses on enhancing access and building awareness about government health schemes.
Dr. Anil Agarwal, Health Specialist, UNICEF Rajasthan, mentioned the need for motivation among healthcare providers, advocating for consistent supervision and monitoring to ensure initiative success. Even small impacts can lead to meaningful change, he added, reinforcing the idea that every effort counts in the fight for better health. The importance of awareness was also a recurring theme, as noted by eminent journalist Rajendra Bora. He stressed, “We need to build confidence in people so that by the end of this project, they not only understand their rights but feel empowered to claim them.”
Amrat Singh, Director, CUTS highlighted CUTS’ various initiatives in healthcare and discussed the challenges tribal communities face in accessing quality health services. He emphasized the importance of awareness and sensitization to overcome these obstacles.
Vikram Singh Raghav, Technical Consultant, UNICEF spoke about the challenges faced by children in tribal districts. He noted alarming gaps in vaccination rates, with many children experiencing stunting and wasting. Om Prakash Arya, State Manager, Global Health Strategy, shed light on nutrition challenges, emphasising the need for food diversification. “According to a state survey, diet diversity is the lowest in Rajasthan,” Arya warned. He mentioned food fortification as a viable solution, urging participants to generate awareness around this pressing issue.
Amar Deep Singh, Senior Programme Officer, CUTS referred NHSRC data on healthcare which shows that Out of Pocket Expenditure (OOPE) of Rajasthan is higher than the national average, hence there is need to improve accessibility of government health schemes in Rajasthan.
