Panaji (Goa), Jan. 21 : The Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare met here on Tuesday to review the progress of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) in various states.

Additional Secretary and Mission Director (NRHM) G C Chaturvedi presented the key features of the mission and the state wise progress on key benchmark indicators.

Members appreciated the remarkable progress made by the mission in the short span of time and recommended that the allocation of funds for the NRHM should be enhanced over the years.

They also expressed satisfaction at the design of NRHM and pace of its implementation in states and recommended greater involvement of the elected representatives at various levels in the institutional framework of NRHM.

The members, however, called on the ministry to address the human resource gap, describing it as the biggest challenge for NRHM and its stakeholders.

It said that states must rationalise their human resource policies so as to attract skilled workers to the public health system.

It also said that the service conditions of personnel working in the health sector should be improved.

The availability of essential drugs at various levels was another area of concern, they said, adding that states should be encouraged to establish TNMSC like models of procurement and logistics.

The members recommended that all states should set up the Rogi Kalyan Samitis (RKSs) at all levels so as to be able to access the decentralised funds under NRHM. The RKSs can be powerful institutions for ameliorating the inconvenience suffered by the citizens and compensating the service gaps at health facilities.

The members also noted the progress of the NRHM in the state of Goa and visited the Canacona Community Health Centre.

Health and Family Welfare Minister A. Ramadoss thanked the Consultative Committee members for their valuable inputs and assured them that the ministry would continue to make relentless efforts for improving the availability of health services at all levels and ensure the successful implementation of the NRHM. (ANI)