Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday said a bill for setting up a National Council for Human Resources in Health will be introduced in Parliament soon to address issues of quality, quantity and equitable distribution of medical education resources.

Addressing students at the 38th convocation ceremony of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, he said the government has tried to address the critical lacunae of inadequate public provisioning for critical health services.

“The 11th five year plan envisaged an increase in public expenditure on health to at least two per cent of the GDP. This percentage was below one per cent at the start of the 11th plan and has increased to only 1.1 per cent in 2009 according to the mid-term appraisal,” Dr. Singh said.

“There is clearly much more to do and a large effort will be required in the twelfth plan period to achieve the goal of taking the total allocation for the health sector to 2-3 per cent of GDP. Since most of the expenditure on health is in the state budget, the state governments will also have to substantially increase their expenditures,” he said.

Observing that in India as well as globally, there is a growing sense that medical education needs a revamp to adapt it to contemporary needs and realities, Singh said the need of the hour is to produce professionals who address health not only from the perspective of the individual patients but as part of a team integrated into the larger health system.

“India needs many more health professionals, of different categories to fill the huge shortfall,” the Prime Minister said, adding the Government is reviewing the existing regulatory system for medical education.

“After extensive consultations, the ministry of health has prepared a draft bill for setting up a National Council for Human Resources in Health that will be introduced soon in Parliament. The bill will seek to create an enabling environment that will address issues of quality, quantity and equitable distribution of medical education resources,” he said.

Highlighting the health policy of his government, he said in recent years, the government has adopted a more inclusive and holistic approach towards providing health security in the country, emphasising therein the importance of improved sanitation, nutrition and clean drinking water.

Dr. Singh said the Valiathan Committee formed to look into the modernisation of AIIMS has submitted its recommendations and a high-powered committee was looking into it.

“A high-powered group is looking into the statutes,” he added.

Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said government has roped in experts from the IIM, Ahmadabad, to streamline management procedures in AIIMS.