‘Govt plans major overhaul of urban health system’

The government has decided to overhaul the country’s urban healthcare system and bring it under the core structure of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, State Minister for Health Dr MA Muhit said on Tuesday.

“Given the reality of the country’s rapid urbanisation, it is quite impossible to build a sustainable national health system while keeping urban healthcare outside the mainstream,” he said.
The state minister made the remarks as the chief guest at a national consultation at the CIRDAP auditorium in the morning.

The CSO Forum organised the consultation on building a sustainable SRHR (Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights) ecosystem.

Muhit said the country’s urban population was less than 10 percent after independence, prompting the health system to focus mainly on rural communities.

About 30 percent of the population now lives in urban areas, and the proportion is projected to reach 50 percent by 2050, he said.

“We are not building a health system merely for today; we are also considering the future. So, the decision to integrate urban healthcare into the mainstream government health system with the highest priority has been taken based on current realities,” he said.

He said urban healthcare services had previously been managed mainly by city corporations, municipalities and NGOs.

Taking into account the flexibility and positive aspects of that model, the government was now developing a comprehensive and sustainable framework under its supervision, he said.

Under the proposed system, both the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and the Directorate General of Family Planning would jointly manage urban healthcare services, Muhit said.

The Directorate General of Family Planning would have a particularly important role in sexual and reproductive healthcare, he added.

Outlining the government’s plan, Muhit said, “We have pledged to hire one lakh new health workers to bring healthcare services to the grassroots level.”

The new workers would receive integrated training under the same framework alongside the existing 40,000 workers, he said.