Mum's the hopeful word in Orissa - View From Venus - Sunday TOI - NEWS - The Times of India
Mum's the hopeful word in Orissa - View From Venus - Sunday TOI - NEWS - The Times of India
Publication: The Times Of India - Chennai; Date: Sep 6, 2009; Section: View From Venus; Page: 14
CAMPAIGN TRAIL
MUM’S THE HOPEFUL WORD IN ORISSA
A new campaign, Deliver Now, aims to reduce maternal mortality rates in 12 districts and empowers women to speak out
Divya A | TNN
When recent footage on an Oriya television channel showed women having their babies on the floor of a government hospital, it drew angry reaction. One woman, Bijaya Laxmi, demanded if compensation were available when a woman died in childbirth. Another lashed out at the medical officer on duty at the hospital, asking if there were even one woman in the crowd who had given birth safely in hospital without having had to pay a bribe. The point of the story is the questioning. That’s what awareness can do in a sea of ignorance. And NGOs have a part to play here.
Awareness can make a particular difference here in India, which has high infant mortality and the highest percentage of maternal deaths in the world – 20%, with about one lakh cases annually.
In Orissa, which has the highest maternal mortality rate (MMR) in India, awareness is changing many lives and saving many more. It is sorely needed. Just over 354 of every 100,000 Oriya mothers die in childbirth, as do 65 of every 1000 Oriya babies. Compare this to the national figures: 301 maternal and 55 infant deaths.
If things are changing it’s because of the Deliver Now campaign initiated in April 2008 by two NGOs. The groups, Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH) and White Ribbon Alliance of India (WRAI), launched the campaign on April 11, Safe Motherhood Day, with the aim of achieving the Triple A: Awareness, Access, Accountability.
Orissa was the natural launch pad, says Dr Aparajita Gogoi, WRAI’s national coordinator. “We tried to empower the community, demanded accountability and created a model of people-centric advocacy which can be replicated anywhere.”
The campaign started with 12 districts and roped in 370 civil society organizations to make women aware of what they were entitled to under various maternal and child health policies. Checklists of existing entitlements under the National Rural Health Mission were handed out. Minimum health service delivery standards were tracked. Public hearings were organized; 12,560 women attended.
Lori Mc Dougall of PMNCH says it was surprising “that less than 10% of rural women knew they are entitled to Rs 1,400 for delivery in a hospital under the Janani Suraksha Yojana.”
Now they know. And the results are there to see. One year down the line, Gogoi says women have started to go into hospital to give birth and are consciously availing of healthcare. They are also demanding follow-up action on the commitments made by district health officials.
Dr Ashok Adhao, national president of the Indian Medical Association, says that even though the government can provide facilities, NGOs need to help convince people to use them. The NGO community now plans to roll out the campaign in parts of West Bengal too. Adhao says this is crucial, “otherwise, like in the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan, a national scheme for elementary education, budgets will be left unutilized in health programmes too.”
Telling Numbers
Maternal Mortality Rate (national) | 301:100,000 live births
Maternal Mortality Rate (Orissa) | 354 (world’s highest)
20% of the world's childbirths take place in India 25% of the world's infant deaths recorded in India Source: National Family Health Survey - 3
A public hearing in Balangir district
Publication: The Times Of India - Chennai; Date: Sep 6, 2009; Section: View From Venus; Page: 14
CAMPAIGN TRAIL
MUM’S THE HOPEFUL WORD IN ORISSA
A new campaign, Deliver Now, aims to reduce maternal mortality rates in 12 districts and empowers women to speak out
Divya A | TNN
When recent footage on an Oriya television channel showed women having their babies on the floor of a government hospital, it drew angry reaction. One woman, Bijaya Laxmi, demanded if compensation were available when a woman died in childbirth. Another lashed out at the medical officer on duty at the hospital, asking if there were even one woman in the crowd who had given birth safely in hospital without having had to pay a bribe. The point of the story is the questioning. That’s what awareness can do in a sea of ignorance. And NGOs have a part to play here.
Awareness can make a particular difference here in India, which has high infant mortality and the highest percentage of maternal deaths in the world – 20%, with about one lakh cases annually.
In Orissa, which has the highest maternal mortality rate (MMR) in India, awareness is changing many lives and saving many more. It is sorely needed. Just over 354 of every 100,000 Oriya mothers die in childbirth, as do 65 of every 1000 Oriya babies. Compare this to the national figures: 301 maternal and 55 infant deaths.
If things are changing it’s because of the Deliver Now campaign initiated in April 2008 by two NGOs. The groups, Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH) and White Ribbon Alliance of India (WRAI), launched the campaign on April 11, Safe Motherhood Day, with the aim of achieving the Triple A: Awareness, Access, Accountability.
Orissa was the natural launch pad, says Dr Aparajita Gogoi, WRAI’s national coordinator. “We tried to empower the community, demanded accountability and created a model of people-centric advocacy which can be replicated anywhere.”
The campaign started with 12 districts and roped in 370 civil society organizations to make women aware of what they were entitled to under various maternal and child health policies. Checklists of existing entitlements under the National Rural Health Mission were handed out. Minimum health service delivery standards were tracked. Public hearings were organized; 12,560 women attended.
Lori Mc Dougall of PMNCH says it was surprising “that less than 10% of rural women knew they are entitled to Rs 1,400 for delivery in a hospital under the Janani Suraksha Yojana.”
Now they know. And the results are there to see. One year down the line, Gogoi says women have started to go into hospital to give birth and are consciously availing of healthcare. They are also demanding follow-up action on the commitments made by district health officials.
Dr Ashok Adhao, national president of the Indian Medical Association, says that even though the government can provide facilities, NGOs need to help convince people to use them. The NGO community now plans to roll out the campaign in parts of West Bengal too. Adhao says this is crucial, “otherwise, like in the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan, a national scheme for elementary education, budgets will be left unutilized in health programmes too.”
Telling Numbers
Maternal Mortality Rate (national) | 301:100,000 live births
Maternal Mortality Rate (Orissa) | 354 (world’s highest)
20% of the world's childbirths take place in India 25% of the world's infant deaths recorded in India Source: National Family Health Survey - 3
A public hearing in Balangir district
posted by Sandip K. Dasverma at
9:50 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home