Shillong, Aug 25: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma has assured to personally monitor a special study into the high prevalence of anaemia among pregnant women in East Garo Hills.
The Chief Minister’s assurance came on Tuesday after Leader of Opposition Mukul Sangma flagged abnormally high anaemia cases during his visits to health centres in the district, with many women requiring referral outside the district.
Intervening in the Assembly, the CM said the government has been tracking every pregnancy in the state through a software for the past seven years while keeping identities anonymous to identify high-risk cases.
“About 10-15 percent are high-risk mothers and most of them are anaemic. We have the full spectrum for the entire state,” Sangma said, adding that such mothers are shifted to transit mother homes 15 days before delivery and provided extra nutrition and financial support.
Stating that focused interventions have helped bring down Meghalaya’s Maternal Mortality Ratio by 55 percent in seven years — the highest decline in the country — Sangma assured, “We don’t want a single mother to lose her life while bringing a life to this world. I will personally look into this and we will do a special audit and take special care in East Garo Hills.”
Earlier, Mukul Sangma said anaemia was being treated as “usual” in the district’s CHCs and PHCs and stressed the link between maternal nutrition and stunted growth in children.
“It is a real problem and abnormally high in East Garo Hills. There is an urgent need for a special focus, strategies and a complete survey on mothers’ health,” he said.
