Health ministry releases annual health survey figures

Government has identified 57 districts in the country with worst health indicators, including 34 in Uttar Pradesh where it aims to have a special focus.

The 57 districts with poor health indicators came out in the Annual Health Survey (AHS) conducted in 284 districts of eight Empowered Action Group States of Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Rajasthan, besides Assam, representing half the country's population.

Health Secretary K Chandramouli said the Health Survey has identified 57 districts which require special attention of the government for improving their health indicators.
"We need to have in place a special health policy and concentrate in these areas to see that the health schemes are implemented with more focus," he said.
Among the 57 districts identified, 34 are in Uttar Pradesh where government has found irregularities in funds to the tune of hundreds of crores under the Centre's National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).
There have also been three murders of senior doctors in Uttar Pradesh, which CBI is now probing, following allegations of irregularities in use of NRHM funds.
Madhya Pradesh has 11 districts in the list while seven districts are in Assam and five in Rajasthan.