Experts discuss ways to improve maternal and child health care systems

Patna: Experts and health workers discussed ways and means for improving the maternal and child health care systems in Bihar at a workshop held on “Advancing maternal and child health in Bihar” in IIT Patna on Wednesday. They focused on improving survival rates through increased institutional deliveries, specialised care facilities, and enhanced frontline workers’ training.IIT-Patna director T N Singh, in his inaugural address, highlighted the constraints of infrastructural barriers and suggested a data-driven approach in decision-making. He said that all the relevant govt schemes, including Janani Suraksha Yojana should be effectively implemented for provision of proper health care facilities to mothers as well as children.Dr Manisha Singh of city-based Mahavir Cancer Sansthan said that gaps in neonatal equipment, hygiene infrastructure, and staff training in public facilities should be duly addressed. She suggested to strengthen outreach services through Village Health, Sanitation, and Nutrition Day (VHSND) sessions in rural areas.Principal investigator Papia Raj introduced the importance of maternal and child healthcare and emphasised the need of promoting midwifery and reproductive health. UNICEF’s health expert S S Reddy pointed to the widening gaps between policy formulation and implementation and recommended stronger coordination between government agencies and grassroots workers for better implementation of the programme.IIT- P registrar A K Thakur, associate dean Anup Keshri, and co-investigator Aditya Raj also participated in the deliberations. Other participants included ASHA and Anganwadi workers of Patna, Maner, and Bihta as well as doctors of all leading hospitals of Patna.