Decline in maternal mortality rate a success story of India: Anupriya
Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel on Tuesday said the Government has taken various initiatives to bring down the maternal mortality rate, and it is one of the success stories of India.
Replying to supplementaries during the Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, she said, “The decline in maternal mortality rate is one of the success stories of India”. Patel listed out the initiatives taken by the Government under different programmes, including the Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA), to provide care to pregnant women.
“So, the impact of these interventions has been that today, India’s rate of decline of MMR (maternal mortality rate) has surpassed the global rate of decline. While our rate of decline is 86 per cent, that of the global decline is only 48 per cent,” she said.
According to the sample registration system 2021-23, maternal mortality in India has come down from 130 per lakh live births to 88 per lakh live births, the minister noted. “All I want to say is, we have done very well. Our efforts are continuing, and we will make sure that we reach our SDG targets,” Patel said.
According to a written reply, the Centre under the National Health Mission (NHM) has undertaken several measures to ensure comprehensive antenatal care, timely follow-up, and appropriate management of high-risk pregnancies (HRPs) identified under the PMSMA.
Listing out the steps, the ministry said the PMSMA provides free of cost, assured and quality antenatal check-up by a specialist/medical officer on the 9th day of every month.
The Centre has developed a centralised PMSMA Portal to facilitate the engagement of private doctors and specialists as volunteers under the PMSMA.
After registering on the portal, their details are shared with the respective state and district authorities. The district PMSMA Nodal Officers subsequently coordinate and communicate the required follow-up actions to ensure effective service delivery, the ministry said.
