Girls not getting iron tablets, govt plan notwithstanding

PATNA: At least 70% adolescent girls in Bihar are anaemic. However, the state government’s ambitious scheme to give iron folic acid tablets to schoolgirls, planned in 2013 as a part of Manav Vikas Mission (MVM), remains a non-starter. MVM envisaged improving certain critical indicators of health, population and nutrition by 2017.
Anaemia is a major concern for menstruating girls.If they have iron deficiency, their learning ability is reduced and general performance in day-to-day activities is also impaired. Worse, such girls later become susceptible to death when they go in the family way and develop post-partum haemorrhage due to iron deficiency after childbirth.
These revelations came to the fore at a meeting held on April 21 to review the progress of MVM during 2014-15. CM Nitish Kumar has on several occasions expressed concern over the skewed sex ratio of 916. MVM had targeted initiation of legal proceedings against at least 100 ultrasound clinics indulging in sex determination tests (SDT). But CM Kumar, who chaired the review meeting, was told the health department officials achieved only 3% of the target in 2014-15.
SDT is not only leading to abortions of baby girls but also to death of expecting mothers as many ultrasound clinics are aborting foetus even after permitted 12 weeks of gestation. This has been highlighted in various maternal death reviews, including the one done by Centre for Health and Resource Management recently.
Institutional delivery has gone up but maternal mortality has not gone down in same proportion. Experts attribute this to mothers not staying in health facilities or are not being allowed to stay there during 48 hours after delivery during which maximum maternal deaths occur. MVM had targeted at least 30% mothers should have stayed at health facility for 48 hours. But the achievement was only 12% in 2014-15.
However, the state showed remarkable progress in terms on initiation of breastfeeding within 24 hours of birth. It is critical in decreasing the infant mortality rate. The stats also showed improvement in overall immunisation and distribution of iron folic acid tablets to pregnant and lactating women.