Published 7 July 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b2781
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;339:b2781

News

India seeks to pay extra to attract doctors into villages, but health workers are sceptical

Ganapati Mudur

1 New Delhi

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The Indian government plans to increase its budget for rural healthcare services by 16% this year and has promised doctors extra pay to work in remote rural areas. But experts in public health have cautioned that attracting doctors into India’s remote and underserved villages will take more than just money.

The health ministry announced last week that it would make available funds for "significantly higher monetary incentives" for doctors who accept positions in primary healthcare centres in the "most difficult and inaccessible areas."

Health officials have said the increase in pay for doctors would depend on the location, with salaries rising with the toughness of the area. At some remote sites the salary could reach double the standard pay.

The funds would be drawn from the national rural health mission, a programme launched by the federal government in April 2005 to upgrade essential health services in rural areas by adding . . . [Full text of this article]


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