An unhealthy step

After dilly-dallying for years, the Union Cabinet has finally given its nod to the Rs 22,500-crore National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) to provide basic health services to nearly 78 million economically disadvantaged people in roughly 780 cities. While a similar mission on rural health management came into being in 2005, the NUHM got stuck due to divergence of views between the Planning Commission and the health ministry on the role of the private sector. The ministry, as also several state governments, correctly had reservations about relying heavily on public-private partnerships (PPPs). But it is the writ of the Planning Commission, mistaken though it is, that seems to have ultimately prevailed.

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