Unicef meet in Assam over childbirth deaths

Guwahati: Unicef, Assam, is taking a slew of measures to curb the Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) in the state. It is planning to scale up the intersectoral consultation among various government departments at the state level to check MMR, especially in the rural areas.

Unicef and the state health department will collaborate with all the government sectors through joint planning to ensure that the entire state is covered.

Assam’s MMR is abysmal – it has one of the highest MMR in the country at 300 deaths per 1,00,000 live births compared to the national average of 167 deaths per 1,00,000.

Unicef organized the first intersectoral planning consultation meet in Nagaon district with the district health society last week, The Times of India reported.

MMR for North Assam districts, including Nagaon, is 251 maternal deaths per 1,00,000 live births. Last week’s meet was the first of its kind in the country in which representatives from the state and district, from departments like social welfare, public health and engineering, child protection, education, rural development, tea gardens and child protection attended the meet to understand the causes leading to maternal deaths. The consultation was aimed at addressing the gaps through coordinated efforts from a multisectoral response.

Malalay Ahmadzai, lead-maternal health, UNICEF India, said countries like Sweden, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have improved their maternal health through improved coordination and collaboration among different government departments.

“They have achieved improved maternal health indicators through better roads, better-quality education among women and girls, empowerment of women and availability of financial support to the families,” she said and added that this was achieved through improved coordination and collaboration among different government departments in the countries.

The Nagaon meet was organized under the leadership of deputy commissioner Monalisa Goswami. She focused on intersectoral coordination and planning to address maternal mortality in the district.