NAPM appeals to President Murmu: Urgent public health crisis in Manipur requires immediate intervention

By A Representative 

The National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), along with its pan-India initiatives — the National Health Rights Alliance, All India Feminist Alliance (ALIFA), and National Alliance for Justice, Accountability and Rights (NAJAR) — has made an urgent appeal to the Hon’ble President of India, Droupadi Murmu, seeking immediate and robust intervention to restore and rebuild the crumbling public health infrastructure in Manipur.

In a strongly-worded letter dated June 12, 2025, addressed to the President, NAPM and over 200 signatories including public health experts, social workers, doctors, legal professionals and concerned citizens highlighted the catastrophic collapse of health services in the violence-hit state. With Manipur under President's Rule, the alliance called on the Centre to act swiftly to safeguard the constitutional right to health under Article 21.

“We urge the Hon’ble President to visit Manipur, meet with displaced communities in the valley, hills and camps, and ensure the Right to Health and Dignity is upheld for all citizens, especially women, children, the elderly, and the disabled,” said Meera Sanghamitra of NAPM.

The letter paints a harrowing picture of public health in Manipur, where over 70,000 people have been displaced due to ongoing ethnic violence since 2023. Hospitals and clinics have been damaged, many health centres are non-functional, and the few that remain operational face acute shortages of personnel and medicines. Relief camps, meanwhile, are overcrowded and unsanitary, creating high risk for disease outbreaks.

Citing data from Sphere India, the letter notes that 253 relief camps across 10 districts shelter tens of thousands of displaced people amid severe public health strain. Vulnerable groups — pregnant women, children, the elderly — are being denied essential care. Health services for chronic illnesses like HIV, TB and NCDs have been disrupted, and the mental health toll is described as severe.

Women and children, in particular, have borne the brunt of this breakdown. Widespread sexual violence has led to surging cases of PTSD, anxiety and depression among women. Children’s education has stalled, and their mental health has been severely affected by constant exposure to trauma.

Dr. Suhas Kolhekar, a virologist and health rights activist associated with NAPM and Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, stressed: “The silence and inaction of the authorities on this humanitarian and public health emergency is deeply disturbing. It is imperative to depoliticize health and prioritize urgent rebuilding of Manipur’s healthcare infrastructure.”

The signatories have put forth a 10-point demand charter, including:

- Creation of a high-level Special Task Force with emergency powers to assess and act on the crisis within two months.

- Establishment of functional Community Health Centres in underserved regions like Tuibuang and Sangaikot in Lamka.

- Immediate recruitment of nurses, doctors and paramedical staff across Manipur’s districts.

- Doubling of the state’s health budget and regulated public-private partnerships to prevent unchecked privatization.

- Inclusion of mental health services in all PHCs and decentralization of health infrastructure beyond Imphal.

- Comprehensive anti-discrimination mechanisms in health services across gender, religion, and ethnicity.

- A long-term legal framework ensuring Right to Health as a justiciable right.

“Health is not charity — it is a constitutional guarantee,” asserted Dr. Vandana Prasad, a public health expert and signatory. “It is unconscionable that while the state reels under devastation, the health system lies paralyzed without strategic support.”

The letter concludes with a plea for moral leadership, calling on President Murmu to ensure that India's commitment to universal healthcare reaches even the most conflict-ridden and remote parts of the nation.