Out of breath

The shanties in Yamuna Pushta are packed tight. A dusty and torn curtain hangs over the entrance to Sabina's house. Trunks and cupboards leave little space for Sabina and her family. A kabadiwala has spread his polythene bags and plastic ware at their doorstep. A neighbour's goats roam nearby.

Letters

Subsidy for a select few

Jan Aushadhi Stores fail to take off

Bindeshwari, a scrap dealer in Punjab’s Ludhiana district, was asked to buy Cefzy-250 by the doctor treating his wife.

Pharma companies determine what patients buy

In an ideal market economy competition lowers prices of consumer goods. It is just the opposite in the case of pharmaceutical products. More expensive brands sell more.

The way out

Independent drug pricing authority on the lines of TRAI Cap profit margins of pharma companies Introduce universal healthcare where the entire population has access to same quality of healthcare services Revive and strengthen public sector pharma units and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to produce generic drugs SMEs should be guaranteed reasonable profits and granted a logo which the government can advertise

Failure from the jaws of success

The efforts to reduce child malnutrition in Chhattisgarh have hit a roadblock. The state has partially rolled back its policy of decentralized food provisioning in the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), the key programme for reducing malnutrition amongst pre-school children.

When the government must step in

When the United Progressive Alliance (upa) triumphed at the hustings exactly a year ago, both its supporters and detractors agreed the victory vindicated the government’s social welfare schemes. The upa, in its first avatar, brought a new lease of life in many areas of the social welfare sector. It discarded moribund state-centred approaches, involved local communities and tried to draw in the private sector.

Menopaused 20-somethings

Jayamma’s uterus was removed two years ago—she was 18. Married at 12, she had children at 15 and 17 and she did not know she would undergo uterus removal surgery (hysterectomy) when she went to a doctor for pain in her lower abdomen.

Growth by leaps and bounds

The health insurance industry grew by 37 per cent between 2002 and 2008 and the business was worth Rs 5,125 crore in 2008. Industry insiders said the insurance sector has the potential to become a Rs 25,000 crore industry by 2012. The sector currently comprises more than 30 private insurance companies and four public insurance companies. The growth rate of private companies, in terms of premium collected, is more than public health insurance companies (see graphs).

Treatment has changed

Doctors abuse the insured status of the patient by performing unnecessary surgeries and investigations, said N Devadasan of the Institute of Public Health in Bengaluru. Hysterectomy (surgery to remove the uterus) for women under 35 is common. Normally, it is recommended only in special cases.