Mewat, June 02: Christmas came early for India’s women and newborn, with UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi playing Santa Klaus busy distributing a big bag of goodies.
Gandhi along with Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Wednesday launched a unique Janani-Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (national reproductive and child health programme).
Under this scheme, pregnant women will get free and cashless delivery, free C-section surgeries, free treatment of sick new-born up to 30 days, exemption from user charges, free drugs and consumables, free diagnostics, free diet during stay in the health facilities – three and seven days for normal delivery and Caesarean Section, respectively.
It also includes free provision of blood, free transport from home to health facilities, free transport between facilities in case of referral, and a drop back to home after a 48-hour stay.
Free entitlements for sick newborns till 30 days after birth will include free treatment, drugs and consumables, diagnostics, provision for blood, and exemption from any form of user charges.
The scheme has been launched to lower the country’s tremendously high maternal and infant mortality rate. In India, 67,000 women in India die every year due to pregnancy-related complications. Annually, at least 13 lakh infants die within one year of birth, and out of these approximately nine lakh deaths happen within the first four weeks of life.
Statistics available with national rural health mission (NRHM) reveal that approximately seven lakh infants die within a week of the birth, and a majority of these occur in the first two days after birth.
“To check such deaths, we will provide all facilities to pregnant women free of cost, including bringing them to hospital and dropping back home besides donating blood,” said Sonia.
The ambitious scheme, which has been drafted on the lines of a Haryana government scheme, would see an outflow of Rs 1,100crore per month from the Central kitty.
Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said initiatives like delivery hut scheme and free ambulance service for pregnant women have improved the institutional delivery to 55% in the state. Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said, “If we bring mother and child to hospital, we can save lives.”
–Agencies–