Karnataka government has sought Rs. 790 crore as aid from World Bank for development of primary health centres (PHCs) in the State. This was announced at the question hour in the Legislative Council, by Kagodu Thimmappa, minister for Health and Family Welfare. With this proposal, the government is proposing to upgrade and develop all 2,565 PHCs in the State.

The programme will cover prevention of diseases, improving health and nutrition, adopting good practices, development of human resources and co-ordination with NGOs, panchyat raj institutions, private sector and the local bodies.

The Rs. 790 crore aid is a separate loan, which is being sought from the World Bank. The earlier loan of Rs. 540 crore was for the Karnataka Health Systems Development Project (KHSDP) for the improvement of infrastructure of the 243 small and medium sized medical centres.

The health minister said that the government is expected to take stringent action against the quacks that are mushrooming in the State. "Family welfare officers who have not filed complaints against quacks present in their division have also been suspended, he said. Currently, there are around 1.5 lakh quacks as against 60,000 qualified medical practitioners.

The government is expected to review the scene of staff shortage at the health centres in the State in April this year and go in for further recruitment, informed the health minister.