As part of the state government’s interventions to bring down infant and maternal mortality in the state, the government is launching the free distribution of nutrition kits to pregnant women. To begin with, they would be distributed in nine districts where anaemia is found more among pregnant women.
The kits would be distributed in Adilabad, Bhadradri Kothagudem, Jayashankar Bhupalpally, Jogulamba Gadwal, Kamareddy, Komaram Bheem Asifabad, Mulugu, Nagarkurnool and Vikarabad districts at government health centres.
Each nutrition kit contains one kilogram of nutrition mix powder, one kilogram of dates, three iron syrup bottles, 500 grams of ghee, albendazole tablets, a cup and a plastic basket. Each kit costs Rs. 1,962. The state government plans to distribute nutrition kits to 1.5 lakh pregnant women through the women and child welfare department.
This is expected to reduce the maternal mortality rate in the state drastically. The maternal mortality rate was 92 in 2014 and has now come down to 43. Similarly, the government interventions helped increase institutional deliveries to 66 per cent from 30 per cent.
The state government is already distributing KCR kits to new mothers and babies. So far it benefitted 13,90,634 women costing Rs. 243 crores. In addition, a cash incentive of Rs. 1261.61 crores was deposited in the accounts of new mothers.
The distribution of nutrition kits was launched by Health Minister T Harish Rao virtually in Kamareddy district and later in all other eight districts simultaneously.
By Gollapudi Srinivasa Rao