RURAL HEALTH CARE IN THOUBAL DISTRICT, MANIPUR: AN ANALYTICAL STUDY

The constitution of India recognizes the Government responsibility for health and states that “The state shall regard the raising of the level of nutrition and the standard of living of its people and the improvement of public health as among its primary duties”. The preamble of to the WHO constitution states: “The enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion and political belief, economic and social condition”. Srabanti Mukherjee (2010) describes the unless one is fobbed off by the displays of hi-tech medical care and use of state of the art medical technologies in five star deluxe facilities of a few select urban centre’s, the tale of utter helplessness and callous carelessness is so apparent that it is now frequently taken as a matter of course. The blatantly paradoxical spectacle of buying and selling of health improvements as consumer goods by the well-off minority in the metros on the one hand and the denial of basic health facilities to the vast majority of the rural population along the length and breadth of the country on the other hardly evokes any comment. The access to healthy living conditions and access to quality health care for all citizens are not only the basic human rights, but also essential prerequisites for socio-economic development. A large section of the poor avoids treatment due to extreme poverty. Apart from poverty, there are other factors responsible for limited access to health care like availability of health care infrastructure and work force. In addition to these, some social and psychological factors of the rural populace are also responsible for avoiding health care.