Inadequate prescription

The Niti Aayog's proposal to strengthen secondary and tertiary health care services through public-private partnerships, keeping the under-served primary segment out of its ambit, will be counter-prod

The proposal of the Niti Aayog and the ministry of health and family welfare to strengthen secondary and tertiary healthcare with the resources of the private sector has not come a day too soon. However, not going the whole hog — by keeping primary health out — may end up as many of the typical “neither here nor there” solutions of yore.

There is an immutable and fundamental tenet in public health: A medically robust and economically sustainable health care delivery system prioritises intervention aimed at both preventing the onset of illnesses (services such as vaccination) and ensuring that simple illnesses