Praja Arogya Vedika Urges Andhra Government to Increase Health Budget

 Visakhapatnam: Pointing out that Andhra Pradesh's infant mortality rate (IMR) is much higher than neighbouring states, the NGO Praja Arogya Vedika (PAV) on Thursday asked Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to increase the state's healthcare budget to 6 per cent of the gross state domestic product (GSDP).

In a letter to Chandrababu Naidu, PAV members said high rates of anaemia were found among children below five years and women when they were conducting medical camps in rural, urban, and Tribal areas.

"Andhra Pradesh's IMR, at 24 per 1,000 live births, is notably higher than neighbouring southern states, where the IMR stands at 16 in Karnataka, nine in Kerala, and 10 in Tamil Nadu. Anaemia rates among children aged 6 to 59 months have also risen, increasing from 59 per cent in the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4) to 63 per cent in the NFHS-5. This year's diarrhoea outbreak, attributed to contaminated drinking water, underscores the need for secure water supply infrastructure," they noted.

They urged the government to implement a statewide safe drinking water programme to reduce waterborne illnesses. The letter also proposed establishing specialised hospitals in Andhra Pradesh, modelled after Telangana's Government Cancer Hospital and children's super speciality hospitals like MNJ Hospital and Niloufer Hospital, to provide accessible, high-quality care.

"Statistics indicate that households in Andhra Pradesh cover 66 per cent of their healthcare costs out-of-pocket, with many needing to take loans for medical expenses, increasing household debt," they added.

The group requested that the state government prioritise healthcare by increasing the budget allocation to 6 per cent of GSDP from the current level, under 2 per cent.