Indian health minister wants to ensure safe childbirth for all, bring down preventable maternal deaths
Health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan vowed to reduce preventable maternal deaths in India to zero.
Stressing on the need for safe motherhood he said: “We shall ensure that there are no preventable maternal deaths in the country.” He made the statement at a high level meeting to review the status of Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Children, Adolescent and Nutrition (RMNCAH+N) interventions in the country.
“Our Hon. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji has a vision of a New India where children and pregnant women do not die of preventable causes and people are able to realize their full potential in making of a “Swashth Bharat, Sudridh Bharat (Healthy India, Strong India – स्वस्थभारत, सुदृढ़भारत)”, Dr. Harsh Vardhan said.
“No child should ever die from Diarrhoea. The government will make immediate and sustained efforts to prevent this by 2022″
Describing women as strong pillars of our vibrant society, he urged everyone to come together for the common goal of safe motherhood.
He said: “Sustained development of the country can thus be achieved only if we take holistic care of our women and children. Through our policies and programs, we shall ensure to endpreventable maternal deaths in the country. It is time for all of us to start a mass movement, a ‘Jan Andolan’ to prevent such maternal deaths.”
He urged gynecologists and health activists in the country to join hands with the Health Ministry to strengthen the efforts in this direction.
He suggested a convergence approach wherein all the resources converge for accelerated outcome supported by an aggressive awareness campaign. “Innovative strategies combined with sturdy monitoring and effective surveillance are needed to ensure that our interventions are effective in achieving the desired outcomes”, he said.
Working in a spirit of collaboration, Dr. Harsh Vardhan directed the officials to brainstorm the proposed strategies with gynaecologists, nutritionists, management experts, paediatricians and engage various government departments, the private sector and civil society including members of the community in monitoring progress and collectively addressing the prevailing gaps and challenges. He also suggested that young and upcoming doctors to be roped in for fresh ideas.
“No child should ever die from Diarrhoea. The government will make immediate and sustained efforts to prevent this by 2022,” Dr. Harsh Vardhan said.
He said that there is an urgent need to re-strategize our approach and make it more aggressive to achieve the target of zero diarrhoea deaths by 2022. “We have to devise innovative strategies and encourage new ideas and innovations so that we are able to reach the unreached,” he added.
