BHOPAL (Madhya Pradesh): Health minister Dr Prabhuram Choudhary claimed that the Covid-19 situation in Madhya Pradesh is ‘under control’. "The government is trying its best to ensure that the third wave of the pandemic does not strike the state," said the minister.

“We are focusing on vaccination and are making the people aware of the need to get themselves vaccinated,” he said.

The minister was talking to media persons on the sidelines of a function at Noor-Us-Sabah Palace in the city on Wednesday for the launch of a new campaign ‘MANCH’ for bettering MMR and IMR in the tribal-dominated Shahdol district. HCL Foundation will conduct the campaign.

The minister says that Covid-19 cases are growing in Kerala and Maharashtra but they are still very low in MP. “Today, for instance, only 16 cases have been reported,” he said.

In his speech at the event, Dr Choudhary says that Madhya Pradesh has set an example before the country in managing the Covid pandemic. “We could achieve it through people’s participation right from the village to the district levels,” he said.

He said, “We are praying that the third wave should never come but are preparing for the worst situation. The production capacity of medical oxygen has been increased and arrangements have been made for setting up of temporary hospitals in case of need.”

The minister said that reducing IMR and MMR was a big challenge in the state. Early detection of pregnant women at risk of developing complications at the time of delivery was the key to bringing down MMR and IMR both.

Dr Chaudhary said that the government had expanded the child and infant health facilities in the state by establishing PICUs (Paediatric Intensive Care Units) in district and civil hospitals.

Besides, the minister also launched digital kits and a mini skill lab on the occasion.

Director, HCL Foundation, Nidhi Pundhir said the foundation works in the fields of environment, health and education. She said that the MMR and Neonatal Mortality Rate (NMR) were unusually high in Shahdol. The foundation would be training grassroots-level health workers (ANMs, Anganwadi workers and ASHA workers) in three Community Health Centre (CHC) areas - Jaisinghnagar, Budhar and Sohagpur - of the district.

Shahdol has a neonatal mortality rate (NMR) of 35 newborn deaths per 1000 live-births. Only 31% of women received Antenatal Care (ANC) in the first trimester and 23% received the required minimum four ANC check-ups. Twenty- eight percent of women had a home-delivery. Among newborns, only 55% were initiated on breastfeeding within one hour of birth and only 4% received a check up from health personnel within 2 days of birth.

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