18 Feb 2013

At the Tenth Annual Kolkata Group Workshop, 40 policy makers, scholars, activists and development experts convened to address the state of women, health 

equity and social justice in India.  While recognizing the significant Indian achievements over the past decade, the  Kolkata Group identified two major gaps in these fields. First is the abysmal state  of health care driven by the absence of systematic recognition of the need for  universal health coverage and the crucial role of public health care. And second is  the slow and very limited progress in women's rights that includes a host of  inequities, insecurities, and injustices. 

The most urgent need in healthcare in India today is for an affirmative approach  that advances universal health coverage through reversing the financial neglect of  public health care and the removal of debilitating illusions about what private  health care and commercial insurance can achieve without firm and active public  health provisions. Effective regulations and ethical professionalism are also  essential. 

The violations of women's rights are related to the continuation of early child  marriage, violence against women, discriminatory practices, the impunity and bias  that permeate the functioning of the legal and police systems, malnutrition of  women and children, increasing prevalence of sex selection at birth as well as  inadequate women's autonomy, health, education, and freedoms. The steps ahead  must recognize the recommendations of the Justice J.S. Verma Committee Report  promoting women's bodily integrity, dignity and sexual autonomy. Serious  attention should also be paid to health, education, nutrition as well as the lack of  adequate recognition of women's well-being and agency. 

Chaired by Amartya Sen, Kolkata Group attendees were Sabina Alkire, Louis-  Georges Arsenault, Shabana Azmi, Abhay Bang, Countess Albina du Boisrouvray,  Lori Calvo, Achin Chakraborty, Gregory Chen, Lincoln Chen, Abhijit  Chowdhury, Asim Dasgupta, Keshav Desiraju, Antara Dev Sen, Jean Dreze,  Shiban Ganju, Dilip Ghosh, Joaquin Gonzalez-Aleman, R. Govinda, Shaibal  Gupta, Pratik Kanjilal, Manabi Mazumdar, Surjya Kanta Misra, Nachiket Mor,  Poonam Muttreja, Sridhar Rajagopalan, Kumar Rana, Sujatha Rao, Srinath Reddy,  Nidhi Sabharwal, Abhijit Sen, Amartya Sen, Nandana Sen, A. K. Shiva Kumar,  Amarjeet Sinha, Shantha Sinha, Sukhadeo Thorat and Sitaram Yechury.