Close to the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections, a Ten-Point Manifesto on Right to Health care was presented to political parties by a statewide coalition of civil society organisations, Jan Arogya Abhiyan (JAA) at assembly organised in Pune on February 17, 2024. The ten-point manifesto reflects the people’s aspirations from 8 districts across different regions of Maharashtra where JAA organised district level conventions during October 2023 to February 2024.
The state level representatives of the political parties, Com. D. L. Karad (CPI-M), Sachin Sawant (Congress), Prashant Jagtap (NCP-Sharad Pawar), Priyadarshi Telang (Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi), Lata Bhise (CPI) and Ajit Phatke (Aam Aadmi Party), who were present during the event agreed on the ten-point health manifesto. The event was attended by 150 public health experts, social workers, and health professionals including nurses, ASHAs, Anganwadi workers, doctors from various parts of the Maharashtra.
Some of the points raised during the event were the current Central and State government’s lack of focus on fundamental issues faced by the people; persistent lack of basic healthcare in rural areas; unequal impact of the poor health system on underprivileged groups; need for augmenting financial provisions and ensuring adequate supply of health resources; denial of patients’ rights by private hospitals; continuing threat of healthcare privatization; and compromised status and dignity of grassroots healthcare workers.
Among the ten points, the key demand was to enact a Right to Healthcare Act in the state. Jan Arogya Abhiyan earnestly appealed to all political parties to prioritize health by placing it at the core of their election agenda. Other demands were doubling government health spending, ensuring accountability of the health system and mandating community monitoring across the state, regularisation of the temporary health staff, regulation of the prices of medicines, ensuring health care with dignity for all especially for people with special needs, protection of patients’ rights in private hospitals, strengthening public health services and regulating private health care, moving towards a system of affordable and accessible universal health care.
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