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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Pointed jab at capital's health gap -Chhandosree

Pointed jab at capital's health gap -Chhandosree

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published Published on Dec 31, 2015   modified Modified on Dec 31, 2015
-The Telegraph

Ranchi: Childbirths at home, no immunisation. Allegedly, this continues to happen in capital Ranchi, within city limits in a locality some 2km from Khel Gaon.

A Jan Sunvai or district-level public hearing, held today under the aegis of National Urban Health Mission (NUHM), Jharkhand, had stunning disclosures like these from lower-tier urban healthcare workers, which may have ringing implications at a time Ranchi is eyeing the Centre's coveted Smart City tag.

Banketoli, a locality in Ranchi Municipal Corporation's ward 7, has 200 children below two years who are not fully immunised and of them at least 50 per cent had never been immunised, said urban sahiya Basanti Devi and mahila arogya samiti coordinator Sima Tirkey at the hearing of 10 wards among 55.

"There are around 400 children in the age group of zero to five years in my tola (Banketoli) of which at least 200 are not fully immunised. This has happened because Banketoli has no anganwadi kendra and no ANM (auxiliary nurse-cum-midwife) visits the place. Childbirths at home are very high. Even last week, two deliveries took place at home after which newborns were not vaccinated," said Basanti Devi, who was selected this September as urban sahiya by mahila arogya samiti, under the district-level NUHM which functions out of the civil surgeon's office.

Sima Tirkey, mahila arogya samiti coordinator, immediately supported Basanti, saying: "When the third phase of Mission Indradhanush (a Government of India initiative to ensure all children under two years and pregnant women are fully immunised) was launched in December, we enquired in Banketoli and found either the mother or the child were not completely immunised. As many as 100 children were never vaccinated because they were born at home."?

Their statements caused consternation among those present at the hearing - Ranchi civil surgeon, two city managers and the district reproductive child health officer were hearing out problems of 200 people, including the urban sahiyas, mahila arogya samiti coordinators, ward councillors and some residents of these 10 wards - but the duo seemed unfazed.

On whether those allegedly non-immunised babies were administered polio drops, Tirkey said: "I have not done a head count. Some children may have been given polio drops but nothing else because their mothers do not have the government's Jaccha-Baccha Suraksha (mother-child protection) card. ?

Ward 7 councillor Sujata Kachchap chipped in, saying: "The population of my ward is around 30,000, covering Kantatoli to Khel Gaon. The place they (Basanti and Sima) are speaking about is at the fag end of Khel Gaon. It is like a desolate village in the civic area because it is bereft of all basic amenities. It doesn't even have an aganwadi Kendra, though my ward has six."

An embarrassed silence followed as officials heard about the basic health gaps in the capital's "desolate village". Ranchi civil surgeon Dr Gopal Srivastava preferred to keep quiet. "We will get this checked," was his only one-liner.

Dr Pratima Narayan, the district reproductive child health officer, played it equally cautiously. "I do not disagree with what they said neither do I agree. I will have to get the area (Banketoli) checked before making comments," she said. Prodded for some reaction, she said: "Being absolutely non-immunised is not possible. Perhaps, being not fully immunised is."

The Centre's Mission Indradhanush was launched in Jharkhand in April 2015 to immunise all children against seven vaccine preventable diseases namely diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, tuberculosis, measles and hepatitis B by 2020.

If what the health workers allege is true, Banketoli is a test case of how Mission Indradhanush has failed in Jharkhand's capital.

Present at the Jan Sunvai, a resident of Garhatoli, which is near Banketoli, agreed with the allegations of health workers. "Now the officials will gear up to prove that our claims are wrong. But then, how will they show that newborns delivered at home were immunised?" she asked sarcastically.?

According to the Centre's annual health survey 2012-13 (2013-14 is still provisional), fully immunised children below two years was 84 per cent for Jharkhand and 90.6 per cent for Ranchi. A Planning Commission survey of 2011 said vaccination rate in India was 51.2 per cent with Jharkhand little below with 51.1 per cent.

At the same public hearing held for wards 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 49, 50, 51, 52 and 53, a community report card generated through community-based monitoring, supported by NGO CINI, in October-November, also said water, sanitation, solid waste management and drainage were bad in all the 10 wards.

The Telegraph, 31 December, 2015, http://www.telegraphindia.com/1151231/jsp/frontpage/story_61319.jsp#.VoSenVI1t_k


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