Social
Assessment Study for Karnataka Health Systems Development
Project
Page
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General Mandates that are applicable in Karnataka, India:
The Mysore Public Health Act (1944) was enacted in the state
of Mysore for advancing public health in the state of Mysore.
This is yet to be amended. The Model Public Health Act was
communicated by the central government in January 1987.
This will serve as a guide for framing the Karnataka Public
Health Act in Karnataka, amendment of Karnataka Municipal
Corporation Act - 1976 and Karnataka Municipalities Act
(1964). The functions listed under item X, item XIX of schedule
III of the Karnataka Panchayat Raj Act relates to drinking
water and health and family welfare program guidelines.
Likewise the KPR Act specifies the same issues in taluk
panchayat, grama panchayat. The Section III Chapter 17,
of the Act empowers the ward sabha to exercise powers to
discharge the functions relating to public health. Chapter
18 provides regulatory powers of grama panchayat to ensure
control of communicable diseases and public health outcomes,
health regulations to be effectively enforced. Chapter 21
provides to ensure the control of communicable diseases.
The Epidemic Diseases Act - 1897 (Act 3 of 1897) provides
for better prevention of the spread of dangerous, epidemic
diseases.
The
Karnataka Right to Information Act (2000) received the assent
of the governor on the 10th day of December 2000. The Act
provides for right of access to information to citizens
of the state to promote openness, transparency and accountability
in administration and to ensure effective participation
of the people in the administration and thus making democracy
meaningful.
Special
budgetary provisions for Vulnerable Community
At present there is no special budgetary provisions for
health care activities under Special Component Plan (SCP)
for Scheduled Caste or under Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) for tribal
population. Out lay and expenditure towards few sub centres,
primary health centres and mobile health units take the
form of notional funding and will be accounted as flow of
funds to SCP or TSP from overall budget of Zilla Panchayats
(Health Sector) Budget. Apart from this there are no specific
or exclusive programs/activities/inputs benefiting the individual
clients/communities particularly SC/ST as in other poverty
alleviation programs.
Vulnerable
Communities Health Plan
Keeping in view the findings of the study and literature
review, strategies for improving the health of vulnerable
communities is being proposed in the report. The Vulnerable
Communities Health Plan (VCHP) has been developed to improve
the health of these communities based on the findings of
social assessment study conducted in more/ most backward
taluks, also having high percentage of vulnerable communities
and consultations with stakeholders in two workshops held
at Bagalkot and Mysore, Karnataka, India.
