...... RIGHT TO HEALTH 63 10) NHRC led Public Hearings on ‘Access to Health Care’ and other issues related to Public Health 11) Supreme Court’s reference on the ‘ban on sale of non-iodized salt’ dated 4th October 2002 in the case of Common Cause Vs. Union of India (W.P. 525/2000). 12) Issues relating to ‘Female Foeticide: Legislation, Ethics and Empowerment’ 6.3 On the issue of ban on sale of non-iodized salt, the Core Group recommended that “universal iodizaion of salt is a public health need, which should be met without any relaxation in the ban on sale of non-iodized salt.” Upon careful consideration of the comments of the Core Group on each of the above issues, the Commission took up these issues with the concerned authorities. Some of the other issues mentioned in the above list have been dealt with in other sections in this chapter and in other chapters of the annual report. B] Public Health and Human Rights National Consultation on Strengthening Primary Health Care 6.4 In the annual report for the year 2002-2003 it was reported that the Commission continued to monitor the progress of implementation of the recommendations of the Regional Consultation on Public Health which it had organised in the year 2001 in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the WHO. On the suggestions that emerged after discussions with the concerned Ministries of Government of India and others concerned on strengthening the Primary Health Care in the country, the Commission held further consultations with the Secretaries of the Department of Family Welfare, Health, Women and Child Development and others on the issue in August 2003 and in October 2003. Pursuant to these discussions, the National Institute of Health & Family Welfare has offered to host the three-day National Consultation on Primary Health Care and Human Rights in India. A small Sub-Group has worked out the themes, sub-themes and list of experts who could be invited to this Consultation. It is proposed to organize this event in 2005 and also integrate it with Regional/National Public Hearings on access to health care planned by the Commission during the year 2004-2005. C] Public Hearings on Access to Health Care 6.5 In November 2003, the Commission approved a proposal received from Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, an NGO working on public health issues, to hold public hearings on Right to Health and Human Rights in five regions of the country (North, South, East, West and North East) followed by one at the national level at New Delhi. The Commission also decided to extend financial assistance to the NGO for organizing these public hearings. The objectives of the Hearings are as follows: ANNUAL REPORT 2003-04