Maternal Mortality ratio drops 33 points to 97 in 2018-20, says JP Nadda

India has achieved the National Health Policy (NHP) 2017 target of reducing Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) to 100 per lakh live births by 2020 and is aligned towards achieving the SDG target of MMR of 70 by 2030, Union Health Minister J P Nadda told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

Responding to a question, Nadda said that as per the Sample Registration System (SRS) released by the Registrar General of India (RGI), the current Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) of the country is 97 per lakh live births.

There has been a significant decline of 33 points in MMR from 130 in 2014-16 to 97 in 2018- 20, he said.

"India has achieved the National Health Policy (NHP) 2017 target of MMR 100 per lakh live births by 2020 and is aligned towards achieving the SDG target of MMR 70 per lakh live births by 2030," Nadda said.

The MMR in India has declined by 83 per cent compared to the global reduction of 42 per cent. Similarly, the Under-Five Mortality Rate (U5MR) in India has decreased by 75 per cent, exceeding the global decline of 58 per cent, he stated.

The government of India launched Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan (SUMAN) initiative in 2019 with an aim to provide assured, dignified, respectful and quality healthcare at no cost, and zero tolerance for denial of services for every woman and newborn visiting the public health facility.

Under the SUMAN, public healthcare facilities are categorised into basic, BEmONC (Basic Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care), and CEmONC (Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care) centres to provide comprehensive healthcare services.

The National Quality Assurance Standards (NQAS) certification of all notified healthcare facilities is done to maintain quality standards, Nadda stated.

There is a component of respectful maternity care, including the provision of a birth companion of choice during childbirth and a client feedback system through 'Mera Aspataal' and Grievance Redressal mechanism, he said.

The Midwifery training programme aims to create nurse practitioner midwives (NPM) who are trained to achieve International level competence.

Maternal healthcare is strengthened by the NPMs by providing natural birthing, alternative birthing positions and reduced medical interventions thereby ensuring a respectful, compassionate and positive birthing experience, especially at high caseload facilities, he said.