In an abandoned house in Phatka Panchayat, sits an exasperated health worker. The house with its resident snake and pockmarked floor serves as the local health centre. In the monsoon, water leaks through the crumbling ceiling. Phatka Panchayat has never had a proper health centre. Community Correspondent Rejan Guria reports on how this absence has become a bane for people. Kiran Guria, a Panchayat Member tells us how repeated visits to the block office have been met with nothing but responses like “yes it will happen soon”. ‘But when?’ he asks… The hospital superintendent set up the existing health centre as a stopgap arrangement that seems to have become permanent. Sohanlal Dhodhria, the health worker, admits that the facilities are not enough. ‘All we can do is give them basic medical care when they come in and then send them home,’ he says. Jharkhand has little to boast about when it comes to health facilities. The government acknowledges that there is need for a concentrated effort to provide medical care to the people, especially those living in rural areas. Programmes like the National Rural Health Mission are an attempt to provide these facilities but the implementation is plagued with inefficiency and large scale scams. According to various reports, the state’s Maternal Mortality is higher than the national average, three quarters of young children and adolescents are anaemic and don’t have full immunization. The lack of facilities like toilets and drinking water further add to the list of health problems of the people. Rejan Gudia hopes that those of you watching this video will help change the situation in at least one village in Jharkhand. Call to Action:  Please call Mr S Ekka, Block Development Officer, Torpa District, on 09430342965 and pressurise him to make a proper health care centre in Phatka Panchayat. Read More: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/when-schemes-turn-anaemic/article4511762.ece http://www.jhuccp.org/sites/all/files/Jharkhand%20BCC%20Strategy.pdf http://www.unicef.org/india/state_profiles_4362.htm