A child dies every two-minute in central Indian state – Madhya Pradesh. This figure is alarming and highest in India. But can’t we save them? YES. They can be saved. But they need health centers to save their lives. Not hi tech center like we have in metro towns but need is of simple health centre at every village. A basic health center, which has needs medicines and some simple facility, can help prevent these deaths to an extent.

Now the paradox is that these deaths are not happening because of lack of the center. Health Centers are there but they lack facilities, doctors and the much-needed medicine. State of health system in Madhya Pradesh is pathetic. That is the reason that children die in MP in the villages of central India but at centers and hospitals of MP. A reality, that needs to be responded.

The solution lies in increasing facilities at the primary health centers community and district hospitals which should doctors and nursing staff who can provide services to people of the state. And the great paradox - MP does not lack funds. There is no dearth of money to make this happen. It is the implementation and right use of funds, which is problem. Minus corruption even the available funds are not used properly.

State gets huge funds from GOI under National Rural health mission and many international donors like United Nations agencies, Japanese Funds, UK DFID, WHO and others. The major part is spent in paying salaries, which is important, planning which many a times gets overdone. Supply forms another part of spend, which if digged will give breaking stories which will be encyclopedia in itself.

State has many donor agencies many of which try to set up some models that can never be replicated. They try to set up some hi tech system, which fails at rural parts of the state. DANIDA of the donors had invested huge amounts in strengthening health system, results started coming but the moment they withdrew, it collapsed. Their is long list of projects undertaken by UN agencies and European Commission in many districts. UN agency which works for children, unicef has now set up sick care new born unit set up in Guna which caters to only few children, maximum about 250 in a year. More than fifty lakhs to a crore have been spent on the same. Except the few lucky ones, which come there, others, continue to die in the district, block level and village level centers. Worst is that a nearby district, which was earlier part of Guna, Ashok Nagar reports worst indicators of health. But who cares? If the investment put in by all the donors present in the state and all the money which World Bank is giving is put into strengthening regular system it could have worked better and saved thousand of lives of children, which have died unnoticed.