State Schemes for combating MMR face implementation glitches

As published in the Raj Express today October 29, 2006

Schemes initiated by the State of Madhya Pradesh for reducing maternal and infant deaths are not being implemented properly. Maternal and infant deaths continue to happen.

Burhanpur – District Burhanpur in the state of Madhya Pradesh has maternal mortality ratio of 800 per one lakh live births while infant mortality rate of 96 per thousand births, which is quite higher than the state’s average.

In order to combat the district administration by the state’s support has been pushing many schemes to promote institutional delivery, immunization and other schemes which state had launched. Till now district Chief Medical & Health Officer’s office has spend Rs 53 lakh in year 2005 – 2006 and Rs 60 lakhs in te year 2006 – 2007 (till now) from IEC funds available under RCH II programme for promoting these schemes, which has had a little impact.

On October 19 Secretary in charge of the district, namely Abha Asthana had been Doifodia primary health centre of the Kharnar block and she had expressed her concern on the situation there. Interestingly district does not have any figures of the maternal and infant deaths which have happened in the district so how does one evaluate the success of these schemes.
Report in Raj Express has a quote of Dr G S Awasia, Chief Medical and Health officer saying that transport scheme had started in 2004 and we don’t have IMR and MMR figures for last two years.

Comments on the story by the blog

IMR figures and MMR figures no doubt are available at state level, and are not calculate every year. Latest one though old are by sample registration system of GOI which state that IMR Of state is 79 per thousand and MMR is 498 per one lakh live births. It is not easy to calculate figures again and again but nevertheless district should be having the number of maternal and infant deaths in the district, and one can see how the district is progressing, if they do not have the same, then…..

Story translated from Hindi to English