HT Correspondent
TEZPUR, April 8: Just ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) announced its ‘Charter of Demands and Health Manifesto 2024’ in a press meet, expressing its commitment to improving the health and healthcare services of citizens just before the formation of the new government. The ‘Health Manifesto and Charter of Demands’ were released by Dr Arunima Goswami, the Assam branch state president of IMA, Dr Suresh Gutta, the national vice-president of IMA, Dr Satyajit Bora, the national dean, Dr Atul Kumar Kalita, the Assam branch state secretary, and former president of the IMA state branch, Dr Manabendra Goswami.
Expressing deep concern over the menace of fake doctors rising day by day and posing a threat to common men’s lives, the IMA manifesto seeks a strict deterrent central law to tackle the issue. The manifesto advocates that the minimum allocation on health alone should be 2.5 percent of GDP and health spending should exceed 5 percent of GDP, with every citizen entitled to a basic health package supplemented with strategic purchases from the private sector. Further, the manifesto emphasises the need for measures to ensure the quality of drugs, such as strict quality control and adequate staffing of related departments, and to follow a “one nation, one drug, one price” policy. Positioning the IMA’s role in certain issues, the organisation declares that it can play a pivotal role in creating awareness and imparting education to health professionals through the promotion of responsible antimicrobial use, capacity building, surveillance, and research on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), which is a new development in the healthcare scenario worldwide.
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Underlining the charter of demands, the organisation urges the government to increase the number of posts of medical officers across the country commensurate with the population. Other demands include waiving off and reducing the high GST burden on health, restricting Ayushman Bharat-PMJAY to strategic purchases from the private sector alone, exempting small and medium hospitals up to 50 beds and clinics from the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010, to maintain the purity of modern medicine, as every system of medicine has its profile and history. Furthermore, the IMA advocates for enacting a strong central act against violence on doctors and hospitals, as 23 State Hospital protection laws have not brought solace to doctors against violence, and a Deterrent Central Law incorporating the amendments of Epidemic Diseases Act 1897, including all forms of violence against doctors and hospitals, is the first step in the right direction, along with several other demands.
Additionally, the IMA urges the government to observe the birthday of legendary physician of Assam late Dr Bhubaneswar Barooah in a befitting manner, so that the life works and ideals of this multifaceted personality become known to the nation.
