Poor Infrastructure = Poor Healthcare

New Delhi, March 30 (IANS) Lack of proper infrastructure is the foremost barrier to healthcare access, a new study says.

According to the study conducted by Pune-based DY Patil Medical College and voluntary group IndiaHealth Progress, nearly 58 percent of the respondents consider poor infrastructure to be the main barrier in accessing healthcare facilities in the country.

'Inadequate buildings, equipment and instruments and irregular staff are some of the barriers that restrict people from getting basic healthcare,' the study said.

'Of the total respondents in the survey, only 31 percent expressed inability to seek treatment in the past six months due to financial constraints,' it stated.

Over 80 percent respondents did not have access to health insurance cover.

A total of 3,424 people of all age groups were surveyed in the urban slums of Pune and surrounding rural areas.

Libyan Rebels pledge fair and free elections

LONDON (Reuters) - Libya's rebel interim National Council said on Tuesday it would hold free and fair elections to ensure a transition to democracy if leader Muammar Gaddafi were forced from power.

The council, based in the rebel-held eastern city of Benghazi, said it aspired to create a "modern, free and united state" in a statement issued ahead of a meeting of foreign ministers in London to discuss the future of Libya.

The eight-point statement said the oil-producing north African nation's economy would be used for the benefit of all Libyans.

It also said it would draft a national constitution that would allow the formation of political parties and trades unions.

Its commitments included one to "Guarantee every Libyan citizen, of statutory age, the right to vote in free and fair parliamentary elections and presidential elections, as well as the right to run for office."

Council leader Mahmoud Jebril was meeting British Prime Minister David Cameron in London ahead of the conference.