Improving Access and Efficiency in Public Health Services: Mid-Term Evaluation of India's National Rural Health Mission

This book presents a systematic mid-term evaluation of the processes of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), India′s biggest rural health programme. Data from District Level Health Surveys (DLHS), National Family Health Surveys (NFHS) and Sample Registration System (SRS) as well as primary data collected from field surveys and interviews with health functionaries have been utilized for undertaking empirical analysis in the study. It discusses the challenges and successes of the Mission with the help of extensive field observations, data analysis and inputs from experts on health and nutrition sectors focusing on maternal, newborn and child health issues and chronic diseases. The book draws from data collected in field visits in the three states of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. After assessing the NRHM processes and progress achieved so far, it discusses important ground realities, identifies the gaps and bottlenecks in the implementation of the Mission and recommends corrective actions. The book will be useful for all those concerned with the issue of health and public administration in general and rural health in particular, such as, NGOs, IGOs, journalists, columnists, public policy planners, civil servants, and other practitioners.

About the Author :
Nirupam Bajpai is Senior Development Advisor and Director, South Asia Program, Center on Globalization and Sustainable Development, The Earth Institute at Columbia University. Before joining Columbia University, he worked at MIT and Harvard. He currently serves as an informal advisor to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He has served as informal advisor to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee as well as several cabinet ministers in the UPA and NDA governments. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2008. He has co-edited India in the Era of Economic Reforms (1999). Jeffrey D Sachs is Director of The Earth Institute, Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development, and Professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University. One of the most famous development economists in the world, Prof. Sachs has been Advisor to several governments in Asia, Africa, Latin America, Eastern Europe, and the former Soviet Union. He was named one of the 100 most infl uential people in the world by Time magazine in 2004 and 2005. Currently Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Kimoon, he was previously Director of the UN Millennium Project and Special Advisor to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the Millennium Development Goals. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2007. He is author of the bestseller The End of Poverty (2006) and Common Wealth (2008), and co-author of Macroeconomics in the Global Economy (1993), and co-editor of India in the Era of Economic Reforms (1999).

Review :
This book exhibits good readability and logical sequencing of chapters. Its design and printing quality are also good. It will be useful for policy planners, project implementers, developmental workers and health practitioners.--Journal of Rural Development