About Health Policy
Madhya Pradesh is one of the largest states of the Republic of India. The state is marked with a complex social structure, a predominantly agrarian economy, a difficult and inaccessible terrain, and scattered settlements over vast area that together pose several formidable problems to health service delivery systems. According to the 2001census, Madhya Pradesh has a population of about 60 million, which is around 6% per cent of the country population. Ranking 7th in terms of population size and 23rd in terms of population density among the 35 states and union territories, it is a large state with a widely dispersed population and relatively low density. From the point of view of per capita income, literacy, urbanization, infrastructure facilities and other development indicators, Madhya Pradesh belongs to the category of less developed states of the country. In spite of the best of efforts on behalf of the Government institutions, the people of the state are not satisfied and the health status, though improved from yesteryears, is far below when compared on the national scale (as reflected by the health indices). For every 100 rupees spent on health, rupees 75 come from private (out of pocket) sources. According to Budget, 2000-2001 (GoMP) the overall spending on health care is Rs. 150 per capita. Although Government Health Expenditure has risen in absolute terms, it has by and large remained static in per capita terms[1]. The share of salaries in non-plan health expenditure is 86.7%[1]. However, the government is not getting fair returns on its investment in health care and there is widespread dissatisfaction with the access and quality of health care in the government health care institutions. On the other hand, there are serious questions about the economic access and quality of health care in private sector, particularly in the rural areas. The problem is compounded as government does not have an effective monitoring, surveillance or control function with regard to private health care. The policy identifies some core issues to improve the access, quality and coverage of health care in MP. The financing for health care is inadequate and should be increased particularly from the public sources. Further, the financing, as out of pocket payment at the time of receiving services is regressive from equity perspective, and is also against the interest of the poor. The present management system for the government institutions is inefficient mainly due to lack of financial and managerial (e.g. management of personnel) autonomy. Thus, innovative thinking in financing, financing mechanism for health care and modern management (financial, personnel) with defined autonomy, responsibility, output and outcome orientation, will go a long way to improve the health of the people in the state of MP. VISION All people living in the state of Madhya Pradesh will have the knowledge and skills required to keep themselves healthy, and have equity in access to effective and affordable health care, as close to the family as possible, that enhances their quality of life*, and enables them to lead a healthy productive life. *Quality of life is the perceived physical and mental health of a person or group over time.