Telangana ranks third in reducing maternal mortality rate, says Harish Rao

HYDERABAD: Telangana Health and Finance Minister Harish Rao on Sunday said that the State ranked third in the country in reducing maternal mortality and attributed this achievement to Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao’s s efforts in bringing medical aid close to people.

Harish Rao along with Animal Husbandry Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav inaugurated the Mother and Child Care super specialty (MCH) block and 33 Neonatal Ambulances at Hyderabad Gandhi Hospital. He expressed satisfaction in launching the MCH block with 200 beds and said that similar MCH blocks would be established in NIMS and TIMS.

He said that pregnant women were receiving quality treatment under the supervision of renowned doctors at Gandhi hospital and dispensaries were established to provide improved medical services to mothers and children. He also mentioned that neonatal ambulances equipped with various facilities were made available in all the districts for the transportation of sick children.

Emphasising the health of lactating mothers and infants, Harish Rao highlighted the salient programs being implemented by the Telangana Government under the leadership of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. He said that numerous programs such as nutrition kits during pregnancy and the KCR kit after delivery, the ‘Amma Vodi’ scheme, which offered 102 vehicle services to serve 4,000 pregnant women daily benefited 30 lakh pregnant women.

The minister said that 350 nurses were given midwifery training, the number of TIFA scans increased from six to 28, and 350 maternity centers were upgraded to meet World Health Organization (WHO) standards. He said the number of newborn stabilisation units was also increased to 56.

He said that the Government provided eight types of medical services exclusively for women through 272 health centres and asserted that Telangana became a role model for the country in maternal and child care due to the successful implementation of these programs.

Harish Rao stressed that hospital deliveries increased from 30 percent to 72.8 percent, setting a record, and said that there was a fall in Maternal mortality rates (MMR) from 92 to 43 (compared to the national average of 97), and infant mortality rates (IMR) from 39 to 21 (compared to the national average of 28).

He said that all these salient programs become possible only with KCR's generosity and appreciated the medical staff for working hard to implement the programs.