Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said one of the major challenges facing the country was to provide adequate health care facilities to the growing population and address the shortage of trained medical personnel.

"One of the major challenges is in providing adequate health care facilities for the growing population of our country. There is a shortage of both trained doctors and nurses," Singh said after laying the foundation stone of the Jorhat Medical College in Jorhat.

"This needs to be addressed at the national and regional levels. I am happy that the Assam Government is taking major steps to overcome the shortage in health care," he said.

"Five of the southern states have more than 60 percent of the medical colleges in the country. This uneven distribution of medical facility is the root cause of the problem," the Prime Minister asserted.

The Centre is taking on the issue by working out ways for the spread of medical education in the country, he said.