Village delegates to plan panel: Focus on health of mothers
July 12, 2007
New Delhi : KEEPING in view the highest Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) in India, as per the last sample registration survey conducted by the Government of India, women from different parts of rural areas have come down to Delhi to meet the Planning Commission and the Ministry of Family and Health Welfare, urging the policymakers to prioritise the issue of maternal health in the agenda.
Led by Women Health Rights Advocacy Partnership (WHRAP) a South Asian forum the women will meet the officials in the Ministry on Thursday. As per the report, MMR is the highest amongst teenagers and those above the age of 35. Experts blame it on poor health, poverty, lack of transport and inadequate medical facilities.
This is an issue of concern as the figure rises every time a survey is conducted…Policymakers should be made aware of it, so that things can be improved, said Jashodhara Dasgupta, founder members of WHRAP.
Vandana, a survivor from Uttar Pradesh, described her experience of going through an improper abortion, despite spending a lot of money. We dont have much facilities in far flung areas and hence there are too many deaths taking place….Every woman has to go through such things and hence the government should do something to ensure safe motherhood, she said.
Sakuri, a woman from Mirzapur district in UP had lost her daughter-in-law in a government hospital said: I want to know why the poor are being made to pay for services which ideally the government should pay for.