Dr Rebello: Lopsided health care policy goes against human rights.

[Guest guest]

To The Editor Down to Earth Delhi 110 062 June 05, 2005 Lopsided health care policy and half-baked health movement. Dear Madam, Apropos your latest issue (May 31, 2005) :- the article "wisdom roots" was a very interesting piece on traditional healers in Rajasthan. One rarely gets to read such reports these days. As regards the interview with David Frawley, Director of American Institute of Vedic Studies, Down to Earth may consider going deeper into the status, problems and attitudes towards indigenous/alternative systems of medicine in India. While the world over (Europe and US in particular), people are resorting to Ayurveda and Indigenous medicines, we Indians are failing to take into account Indigenous medicine for raising the standard of health of the people. India still gives step-motherly treatment to traditional/indigenous/alternative medicine even though it recognises Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Naturopathy,

Unani, Siddha. One may question as to how many Indigenous/Alternative medicine training institutes, research centres and hospitals have been established by the government as compared to Allopathic system? Has anybody heard of a municipal government hospital exclusively for indigenous medicine or a college to train barefoot doctors? Shouldn’t we learn from China, which has always kept alive and proudly promoted its effective Acupuncture treatment? But no, we have created a multi-billion health industry and promoted hospitals indulging in health tourism but do not release grants for upgrading Primary Health Centres in villages and cant pay our rural health workers a living wage. We have doctors of Homeopathy, Ayurveda coming to treat Parliamentarians (see MP Parliament directory "services" section) at government expense, but fail to provide these treatments through government hospitals to the general population. World over, the lobby of drug industry

is so strong that Indigenous systems of medicine is labeled quackery and even governments lobbied to deny these research funds. It is the multi-billion drug industry that decides our health. Not for nothing the finance ministry of India decides the drug policy and not the health ministry. As an activist one knows that governments dance to the tune of lobbies and mafias (be it pharmaceutical, arms, food etc) but it becomes really disturbing when some NGOs and movements such as Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, Right to Cheap Medicine campaign, or centres for human rights holding public tribunals on health lay emphasis on delivery of Allopathy medicines to rural people and forget cheaper, safer Indigenous medicine. Right to health interpreted as right to life (Article 21, COI) in CERC vs Union of India by Supreme Court remains mere rhetoric if it doesn’t include the right to choose one’s system of health care.

David Frawley’s statement that Ayurveda has no lobby is true for all indigenous/alternative systems of medicine more in India than in the US. Hence it is very important that NGOs, Abhiyans and citizens focus their attention/campaign on indigenous system of medicine which are far cheaper, safer, effective and through which we can achieve health for all. Lobbying and compelling governments to provide allopathic medicines in the name of right to health is a pseudo and half-baked movement. Yours frankly Ronald L. Rebello Human Rights Activist 28 Sunrise (552), Samta Nagar Kandivali (East), Mumbai 400 101 "Our ideal is not the spirituality that withdraws from life but the conquest of life by the power of the spirit." -

Aurobindo.