India woefully short of fully functional PHCs
(20 per cent), Gujarat (Prime Minister’s home state with 21 per cent fully functional PHCs), Rajasthan per cent), Jharkhand and Maharashtra (both with 38 per cent completely functional PHCs) and Bihar with 41 per cent such centres — present a sorry state of affairs in terms of basic health infrastructure preparedness to combat Covid-19 threat.
Health experts have stressed the importance of strengthening and building capacity at PHCs to make them better equipped to cope up with the COVID-19 challenge.
According to figures available with the ministry of health, as on March 31, 2018 (this is the period up to which it has (30
A worker sanitises a hospital during a nationwide lockdown imposed in the wake of coronavirus pandemic in Srinagar on Saturday.
the data updated), Odisha has a total of 1,288 PHCs, out of which only 126 are functioning on 24X7 basis, or in other words only 9.8 per cent of the total PHCs are fully functional. Odisha has three confirmed cases of Covid-19, though it has not reported any casualty till date.
Uttar Pradesh has a total of 3,621 PHCs, of which only an abysmal 439 are fully working, i.e. only 12 per cent of the actual strength is functioning 24X7. The state has 44 confirmed cases, however, it has not reported any deaths.
The Prime Minister’s much-emulated home state of Gujarat has 1,474 PHCs, however, only 314 of them are fully functional, which means only a poor 21 per cent are working round the clock. It has reported three deaths due to the virus and has 44 confirmed cases of Covid-19.
Rajasthan has 2,078 PHCs, of which only 627 i.e. 30 per cent are working full time. The state has 46 confirmed Covid-19 cases, however, it has not reported any casualties.
Maharashtra, which has the highest number of Covid-19 confirmed cases in the country at 177 and five deaths, has 1,823 PHCs, but only 38 per cent of them, i.e. a mere 700 are fully functional.
Kerala comes second after Maharashtra in terms of confirmed Covid19 cases with a tally of 165 (though it has no casualties), yet out of 849 PHCs only 20 per cent or just 170 of them are working 24X7.
Bihar has nine confirmed cases with one casualty, but out of its total 1,899 PHCs a mere 42 per cent or 795 of them are fully functional.
Jharkhand is one of the few states in the country, which has till date (March 28 2020) reported no case or any casualty. However, out of the total 298 PHCs, only 38 per cent or 113 of them are functioning completely.