Health ministry's mother and child tracking system in place: Azad

Mumbai, Jan 17 - The health ministry has put in place a mother and child tracking system - to reach out to every pregnant woman and new-born across India to ensure proper care for the woman and necessary vaccination for the child, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said Thursday.

Information is collected to track every mother and child by name, address and telephone for which a BPO-type system has been set up in the ministry to verify the data and inform women of the check-ups and the immunization schedule, Azad said, while addressing the 54th All India Congress of Obstetrics and Gynaecology here.

Data entry of more than 3.5 crore women and 2.7 crore children has been done so far, he said.

In a unique initiative, the government has also launched a scheme wherein male and female contraceptives are being delivered at the doorstep of households in the high focus districts of the country by health workers at a nominal cost, he said.

Another scheme was initiated for the promotion of menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls in the age group of 10-19 years in rural areas. The scheme covers about 1.5 crore girls in the age group of 10-19 years in 152 districts of 20 states, the health minister said

He said maternal and child health has received utmost priority from his ministry.

Azad said there has been a significant decline in maternal mortality rates -, infant mortality rates - and total fertility rates - in India. The current MMR as per the latest Sample Registration Survey is 212 per 100,000 live births and the IMR is 44 per 1,000 live births.

However, the current pace of decline needs to be further accelerated to achieve the commitments on the millennium development goals, he said.