SYLLABUS SECTION: GS III (HEALTH ISSUES)

WHY IN THE NEWS?

Government of India has several initiatives to provide financial and medical support for all pregnant women,

Including women belonging to economically weaker sections during their pregnancy and delivery in Government hospitals.

Steps taken by Govt. of India to ensure assured availability of all facilities to pregnant women near their homes, Especially at the time of delivery in the remote areas of the country are as follows:

1. Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY), a demand promotion and conditional cash transfer scheme for promoting institutional delivery.
2. Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram (JSSK) entitles every pregnant woman to free delivery, including for caesarean section,
3. In public health institutions along with the provision of free transport, diagnostics, medicines, other consumables, diet and blood.

1. Over 25,000 ‘Delivery Points’ across the country have been strengthen in terms of infrastructure,
2. Equipment, and train manpower for provision of comprehensive RMNCAH+A services
3. Setting up of Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Wings at high caseload facilities,
4. To improve the quality of care provides to mothers and children.
5. Functionalization of First Referral Units (FRUs) by ensuring manpower, blood storage units, referral linkages etc.
6. Operationalization of 102 services for pregnant women for providing free transport from home to facility,
7. Inter facility transfer in case of referral and drop back to home.
8. Birth Waiting Homes (BWH) have been establish in remote,
9. And tribal areas to promote institutional delivery and improve access to healthcare facilities
10. Surakshit Matratva Ashwasan (SUMAN) for providing assure, dignifies, respectful and quality healthcare at no cost,
11. And zero tolerance for denial of services for every woman and newborn visiting the public health facility to end all preventable maternal and newborn deaths.

Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA) provides pregnant women a fixed day,

1. Free of cost assured and quality Antenatal Care on the 9^th day of every month.
2. Obstetric High Dependency Unit (HDU) & Intensive care unit (ICU)- Setting up of Obstetric HDU/ICU in the high case load tertiary care facilities across country to handle complicated pregnancies.
3. LaQshya (Labour room Quality improvement Initiative) to improve the quality of care in Labour room and Maternity operation theatres to ensure that pregnant women receive respectful and quality care during delivery and immediate post-partum.
4. Monthly Village Health, Sanitation and Nutrition Day (VHSND) is an outreach activity for provision of maternal and child care including nutrition.
5. Information, education and communication (IEC) to promote institutional deliveries.
6. Birth Microplanning and Birth Preparedness by Skilled birth attendance (SBA) trained ANMs.
7. MCP Card and Safe Motherhood Booklet are distributes to the pregnant women for educating them on diet, rest, danger signs of pregnancy, benefit schemes and institutional deliveries.
8. Outreach camps are provision for improving the reach of health care services especially in tribal and hard to reach areas. This platform is use to increase the awareness for the Maternal & Child health services, community mobilization as well as to track high risk pregnancies.

Read more: UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS

SOURCE: PIB