Hindsight of Government of India - on MMR and IMR

India will miss its Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of reducing maternal mortality rate to 109 per 1,00,000 live births, according to National Health Profile-2015, which was released by Health Minister J P Nadda  on 22nd August. Please read the report here

 "From an estimated MMR (maternal mortality rate) level of 437 per 1,00,000 live births in 1990, India is required to reduce MMR to 109 per 1,00,000 births by 2015. At the historical pace of decrease, India tends to reach MMR of 140 per 1,00,000 live births by 2015, falling short by 31 points," the report said.
Please read the news here

Jharkhand Mahila Manch : state level meeting

NAMHHR member Prerana Bharti (Jharkhand) successfully organized a two day state level meeting of the Jharkhand Mahila Manch on the 26^th and 27^th of August 2015.  The objective of this meeting was to revive the women’s movement in Jharkhand and to brainstorm on strategies to empower the women of Jharkhand to once again take up cudgels against the obstacles that continued to enslave them.   The occasion saw stalwarts of the women’s movement such as Dr. Rose Ketketta, Prof. Malanch Ghosh and Anjali Bose address a large gathering of over 200 participants representing the 78 members who form part of the Jharkhand Mahila Manch.  In their motivational speeches these senior women activists spoke about problems related to gender equality, gender stereotyping and patriarchal structures that encouraged detrimental practices such as child marriage, witch-hunting and trafficking of women to flourish.   The meeting also saw in-depth discussions and brainstorming on strategies covering four thematic issues - violence against women, maternal health and nutrition, livelihoods and women’s participation in local governance.  The chief guests who graced the occasion were Smt. Sampat Meena, (DG of Police, CID) and Smt Mahua Manjhi, President of the Women’s Commission, Jharkhand.

ANM Convention: Reclaiming our skills,redefining our scope

""ANM is an important link in the public health system. She is the first stair in the staircase of the whole public health system" said Satyendar Jain, Honourable Health Minister, Delhi Government on 10th July on the occasion of the ANM Convention held in Talkatora stadium in New Delhi from the 10-12^th July 2015. The first of its kind, this convention was attended by the 1500 ANMs (Auxiliary Nurse- Midwives) from different parts of the country to discuss their role and career in public health.

The Convention was organized by ANSWERS (Academy for Nursing Studies and Women’s Empowerment Research Studies),  in collaboration with Society of Midwives of India (SOMI), National Alliance for Maternal Health and Human Rights (NAMHHR) and Human Rights Law Network (HRLN). ANSWERS is a NAMHHR member also.

The Convention re-iterated the important role played by ANMs who are front-line public health personnel catering to the needs of the most vulnerable groups in rural, tribal and remote areas.  They are the single largest health care personnel in the public health system and over the last seven decades ANMs have worked to enhance public awareness about health and nutrition and played a vital role in implementing family planning and immunization programmes.

However the career of ANMs has not moved forward over the last 50 years and with the passage of time their growth opportunities have further shrunken.  Today, ANMs do not have an independent identity, management cadre or policy access to promote their career.  Hence the goal of the National Convention was to raise the ANMs’ awareness about their role in peripheral primary health care, strengthen their collective voice and enhance their professional accountability.

NAMHHR played a key role in organizing the ANM Convention and was particularly active with the media advocacy.  NAMHHR organized a press meet on 11^th of June 2015 in the Press Club, Delhi which was attended by 21 media persons resulting in coverage in 3 local language newspapers. 

Please see a movie on the convention (Photographs) Here