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New Delhi : “In just 23 months, we have achieved 1.3 crore ante-natal check-ups at 12,900 healthcare facilities across the country. And we also identified 6.5 lakh high-risk pregnancies,” said Union Health and Family Welfare Minister J P Nadda while giving away the ‘IPledgefor9′ Achievers Awards to the individuals and teams of doctors from the private sector and States for their exemplary services in achieving the objectives of safe motherhood to every woman in the country here on June 29, 2018. Nadda also conferred awards to the States that have shown an exemplary decline in MMR as per the recently released SRS data.
Ashwini Kumar Choubey and Anupriya Patel, Ministers of State for Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Vinod Paul, Member, NITI Aayog, Health Ministers from various states and Preeti Sudan, Secretary (Health) along with Heads of FOGSI (Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecologists Society) and IMA (Indian Medical Association) were also present at the event.
Speaking at the function, Nadda stated that our strength lies in the fact that whatever programme we take up it becomes the largest in the world and we have taken up those programmes which will have far reaching impacts. Nadda further said that India has made substantial progress on several indicators in spite of its huge numbers and challenging topography. The Union Health Minister added that India has shown impressive gains with 22% reduction in Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) since 2013. “We must also appreciate that Uttar Pradesh with 30% decline has topped the chart in the reduction of maternal deaths,” he said, according to a PIB release.
Nadda said that providing quality services to over 2 crore pregnant women in India required amalgamation of far reaching vision, policy and implementation at the ground level. “One of our biggest achievements is that the programme has been successful in reaching out to difficult and some of the remotest areas of the country. Of 1.3 crores medical check-ups conducted as part of the campaign, more than 25 lakh were in the high-priority districts identified by the Health ministry for focused attention,” Nadda added.