Govt needs to change outlook….Madhavi Rajadhyaksha
Mumbai: Tribal traditions and hilly terrain have often been cited as a cause for the high child and maternal mortality rates in Melghat in Amravati district.But administrators could learn a few lessons from success stories in the tribal Gadchiroli,which now boasts of an infant mortality rate (IMR) of 30 per 1,000 live births,a decline from 121 in the 1990s.
TOI had in its Tuesdays edition reported about the pathetic IMR of 48 in tribal Melghat in 2010-11.
Many like Dr Abhay Bang of Society of Education,Action and Research in Community Health (SEARCH),who is credited for helping to reduce infant mortality in the tribal Gadchiroli,feel change will remain elusive in Melghat until the state changes its approach.In 2004,the Bombay high court had directed that a package of home-based care be rolled out in all tribal and rural districts in the state where child mortality was high, said Bang.But the HC directives still await implementation,say observers.
Most child deaths occur within the first year and usually within the home.Instead of coaxing parents to take their infants to the hospital,it is more effective if you can take treatment to them, says Bang.
The strategy could address the problem of lack of doctors in Melghat.Dr Sandhya Khadse,Maharashtras officer on special duty (reproductive and child death) proposes another strategy.We should rope in student doctors from preventive social medicine,paediatrics and gynaecology to work in Melghat by rotation, she says.
We are trying to raise awareness and recently launched a pilot project among pregnant women in Dharni block, Amravati collector Richa Bagla said.
* SORRY STATE: Infant mortality in Melghat is the highest in state