Policy Brief for Parliamentarians - Tilting Balance from Public Health to Corporate Interest

The present health care scenario of India is characterized by poor and insufficient public health care system and unregulated high cost private sector health care. The biggest problem lies in the fact that brunt of this has to be borne by the poor and underprivileged people who die due to lack of medical services. The draft pharmaceutical policy (2006) envisages to ensure that there is adequate growth in the Research and Development sector of India and there is easy accessibility of quality drugs at a reasonable price. However, it seems that the guardians of our country are deflecting from their objective and compromising public health giving boost to corporate interest. This document aims to remind the parliamentarians of the guidelines laid down in the draft pharmaceutical policy (2006) and urge them to formulate policies in light of it.