HOSPITAL DELIVERIES ARE A MUST TO REDUCE MATERNAL MORTALITY
- SMT. USHMA SWARAJ
The Minister of Health
& Family Welfare, Smt. Sushma Swaraj has called for intensified
efforts to ensure that all deliveries take place in hospitals
so that the lives of thousands of young women are saved. Speaking
at a Parivar Kalyan Swasthya Mela organised in Sohna, near
Gurgaon in Haryana today, she has said that more than one lakh
young mothers die every year in India due to unsafe deliveries.
More than 70% of these deaths can be avoided by providing emergency
obstetric care and arranging institutional deliveries.
Referring to the
recently launched Rashtriya Janani Suraksha Yojana. Smt.
Swaraj has called upon the Health Workers to register every pregnancy
in their area and conduct medical examinations as well as offer
counselling on nutrition. The Health Workers should ensure that
complicated cases are transported to hospitals immediately and
encourage hospital deliveries in all cases. The Minister has said
that while on the one hand population is increasing, the number
of girls is declining due to strong son preference. She has said
that in Haryana, there are only about 800 girls per 1000 boys
in the age group of 0-6 and this is a serious situation, which
calls for changing of mindsets of people. Referring to the shortage
of health facilities in the country she has said that the Government
is setting up 8,200 more sub-centres all over the country. Describing
the role of village-level Health Workers in delivering health
services as crucial, she has said that the Government would give
all the facilities and drugs needed for discharging their responsibilities
well.
The three-day Parivar
Kalyan Swastha Mela was organised by the State government in coordination
with the Union Health Ministry. It has facilities for health check-ups
and treatment. Specialist doctors from more than 40 disciplines
are available for the entire three days to give free consultation
as well as medicines to males and females separately.
Speaking at the Mela,
the Haryana Health Minister, Mr M.L.Ranga has said that all the
vacancies of doctors at PHCs have filled up. He has said that
generic drugs are being supplied to all the hospitals and sub
centres in the State in liberal quantities, as they are cheaper
than branded drugs. He has also said that medical representatives
have been barred from meeting the doctors during the clinic timing
to ensure better services to the patients.
Dr. Sudha Yadav,
MP, Mr. Gopichand Gehlot Deputy Speaker Haryana, and Shri Raj
Kumar, Health Secretary, Haryana government, have also spoken
at the meeting.
