By: Dr.Vanita
Singh,
MHA-Health (2011-13)
'Justice implies
something which is not only right to do and wrong not to do, but which some
individual person can claim as his moral right' (A.M. Sarma, 1991). Social
justice is an integral part of justice. Though it is not like legal justice
where you can be imprisoned for wrong doings, but it is based on the moral principles
of equal distribution of benefits and
burdens throughout the society. When ALMA ATA declaration took place for HEALTH
FOR ALL, it was perhaps based on the same principle of social justice.
Today, looking at
the growing differences in health indices between developing & developed
countries and between rich & poor states within the same country, no doubt
that social justice is nowhere to claim. Looking at the health indicators
especially infant and child mortality, the poor sections of the society are in
grave situation. Various factors identified for these disparities include
inaccessibility of services for poor either geographic inaccessibility or
financial barriers.
One of the important components
of social justice is redistribution of wealth fairly among the population.
However, the data in India shows that 20% of the richest have about 75% of the
wealth of the country while 80% of the poor have only around 25% of the wealth
of the country. Thus, the principle of social justice is blindly violated. The
policy makers are rich and affluent; their policies are also biased towards
richer section. The name-sake policies for poor people are for writing on
papers only.
Right to health is a
fundamental right and it’s the state responsibility to ensure access to health
care for all without any discrimination on the grounds of caste, sex or ability
to pay. Is this really happening???
A poor man can’t even
think of going to a corporate hospital. Even their entry system is so technical
that a poor and illiterate person would hesitate to enter a corporate hospital.
When he reaches a government hospital, that too after travelling a long distance
and paying huge some of money as travel-fare, to his surprise, doctor is
unavailable or some unskilled person is there to treat him.
Many schemes have come
forward for BPL families. And to avail that service they need a yellow card for
which they keep on running from post to pillar and that too sometimes of no
use. Is this the social justice? On one hand governments slab for deciding poor
people are not less than a joke and on the other hand a poor has to run here
and there to prove that he is poor. With all these flaws in our system the
dream of health for all seems distant.
The rural urban
differences in health indicators are huge, still government approves
opening of new hospitals in urban area/s. Why not drive a policy to set up
hospitals in rural areas..! The profit has become the only motive for providing
health services; perhaps because of this, the health care has become an industry
now from a philanthropic service area.
Let the social justice
govern all schemes and policies and in all sectors, only than universal health
coverage is possible. Social justice, not for the name sake rather for
implementation. This is the only answer to prevailing inequalities in health
sector. For holistic growth, each part is required to grow; If only a section of
the society will keep on growing, the society may perish..!
