FROM JULY 1 no government facility anywhere in the country will be able to charge a single penny from a pregnant woman who seeks admission for delivery. For the first time in country’s history, maternity is being made “free of cost” to ensure improvements in the country’s institutional delivery rate and benefits at the level of maternal and infant health.
Initial reviews by the Ministry of Health, which has initiated the scheme with the help of state governments, reveal that over one crore women across the country would benefit from the provision. The Centre has allocated Rs 1,100 crore for the scheme to the state governments which sent their additional projections after factoring in the state budgets.
The scheme, which also provides for free diet for pregnant women, would put an end to every surcharge on institutional delivery - like the one Punjab Government was charging until recently in the name of user charges from pregnant women. Punjab had objected to the removal of user charges under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) on grounds that they fetched it an annual Rs 2,000 crore.
the new move which would hopefully boost India’s institutional delivery rate - currently less than 50 per cent -
“Every woman entering a government facility for delivery will be entitled to free services - whether it is blood, consumables, drugs or diagnostics. So far, diagnostics were not covered under government expenses,” she said.
UPA chief Sonia Gandhi will launch the scheme from Mewat in Haryana on June 1. Mewat is one of the government’s 264 high-focus districts where women and child health indicators are poor.
The most important provision of the scheme, which will roll under the umbrella of the NRHM, is the facility of paid-for transport for pregnant women wanting to deliver in institutional facilities.
“So long, only the cost of transporting a pregnant woman to a facility was covered. There was no provision of providing for the cost of transport to another referral centre or back home post delivery. Now, transport costs through every step of the delivery - from home to the facility; to a referral centre and back home after 48 hours of admission post delivery would be covered to rule out chances of infection.
- To include blood, consumables, drugs, diagnostics and even transport
- Scheme to benefit 1 cr women
- Rs 1,100 crore allocated
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