More than 80 health activists of Odisha participated in the third National Health Assembly (NHA) at Raipur on September 22 and 23.
State convener, Jan Swasthy Abhiyan (JSA) Gourang Mahapatra led the group and ensured that Odisha’s voice is effectively heard at the national forum where more than 2,000 activists, academicians, researchers and several stakeholders of health sector joined.
Odisha delegates were worried about the absence of out-of-box thinking in Odisha’s health sector when health is a State subject. There is hardly any innovation in Odisha’s health sector and the vertical programme approach is only limited within drug, disease and doctor (3Ds). People in hard-to-reach and remote areas are deprived of minimum or basic health services, besides bearing huge financial burden due to the Government’s apathy. Further a team of activist will participate in Global Health Assembly from November 15 to 19 in Bangladesh.