Shillong, Aug 25: Opposition Leader Mukul Sangma said that anaemia among pregnant woman is abnormally high in East Garo Hills.
Raising a supplementary question in Assembly on Tuesday (Aug 25), Mukul sought the intervention of the government after his visits to health centres in the district, with many women requiring referral outside the district.
Advertisement
In reply, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on said he will personally monitor a special study into the high prevalence of anaemia among pregnant women in East Garo Hills.
The chief minister 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,” the CM said.
He added that mothers are shifted to transit- mother homes 15 days before delivery and provided extra nutrition and financial support.
He said focused interventions have helped bring down Meghalaya’s maternal mortality ratio by 55 percent in seven years — the highest decline in the country.
Sangma said, “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.”
Mukul 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.
Anganwadi centres
In reply to a question, the CM said 666 of the 6,188 Anganwadi centres in the state are still functioning from rented or temporary buildings, and the government is not spending on improving rented premises due to non-availability of land.
In response to TMC MLA Dr Mizanur Kazi, Conrad told the Assembly that construction and renovation of 2,148 centres has been taken up in convergence with the Rural Development department and MGNREGS, with Rs 64 crore sanctioned under Externally Aided Projects.
“Out of 2,148 centres, 1,670 have been completed and the rest will be completed very shortly. We are not spending money on improving the infrastructure of temporary buildings,” the CM said.
