Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik plans Rs 50 crore expenditure to reduce maternal mortality rate

BHUBANESHWAR: A day after laying foundation for a new medical college in tribal dominated Mayurbhanj district, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today said a special scheme will be launched to reduce MMR and IMR in Odisha.

"A special initiative for reduction of IMR and MMR in difficult areas of the state will be rolled out with budget of Rs 50 crore annually," Patnaik told reporters after chairing the annual meeting of the State Health Mission.

While the Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) in Odisha remained at 222 per 1 lakh deliveries, the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) stood at 51 per 10,000 children born in the state. Both the ratio are more than the national average, an official said.

Though the state government during last one decade has been successful in bringing down the IMR by almost 50 per cent, the problems continued in difficult and inaccessible and tribal dominated pockets. The state government has meanwhile identified such difficult areas where Rs 50 crore would be spent for reduction of IMR and MMR, the official said.

The government through its rural health workers would identify the high risk mothers and provide special attention towards health and smooth deliveries. The difficult areas would also have provisions for better care of the new born children, he said.

This apart, Patnaik also said that provisions of minimum diagnostic facilities would be available for the needy people at all public health centres. However, such facilities would be provided in phased manner in all the health care centres in the state, the chief minister said.

"The state government is moving towards the holistic and comprehensive health care for our needy people by effective implementation of free medicine distribution scheme like Niramaya Yojana along with health insurance plan of Biju Krushak Kalyan Yojana and Odisha State Treatment Fund", he added.