On the eve of Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti, members of Pravasi Bhart gathered at the Gandhi Statue at Tavistock Square Garden, London and paid tributes to the Mahatma. They also submitted a petition on 'Universal Health Care' to Government of India through the High Commission of India.
Citing incidents including the infamous Gorakhpur Hospital tragedy where hundreds of children died due to lack of oxygen, and the tribal man in Kalahandi who carried his wife's body on his shoulders for nearly 12 kms due to lack of money, Pravasi Bharat wrote, “In view of above issues and as health is fundamental aspect of society, we believe there should be centralized system managing our health care equally across the India, like the NHS (National Health Service) in England. We request the Government, to do the centralized universal health care system through an act of law – like centralized tax system (GST) we should also have centralized health care with the engagement of all state governments.”
Speaking on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, Pravasi Bharat said, “On this auspicious day, we have now committed to work on the subject of 'Universal Health Care'.”
