 |
| Infant health worker Pinki weighing a child as part of a regular check-up |
WASHFAIR Reporter
One in five newborn deaths within the first month of birth,
could be prevented by ensuring access to clean water and providing a clean
birthing environment, a new survey has found.
The survey commissioned by WaterAid India entitled ‘Healthy
start campaign’ cited that Sepsis, a leading cause of infection in newborns, is
associated with unclean practices at and after birth.
“Evidence also suggests that poor water, sanitation and
hygiene in health care facilities is associated with high in-hospital maternal
mortality,” the survey read in part.
With 167 maternal
deaths per 100,000 live births and 28 newborn deaths per 1,000 live births,
India has one of the highest rates of maternal and infant mortality in the
world. Studies have shown that many deaths in the first month of life result
from diseases and conditions that are preventable.
Though the link between lack of safe water, sanitation and
hygiene (WASH) and disease was established in the last century, most of India’s
healthcare facilities continue to have inadequate WASH facilities. Almost 140,000
children under the age of five die every year in India from causes linked to
lack of clean water and adequate sanitation, and poor hygiene practices.
WaterAid, globally, envisions everyone, everywhere to have
access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene by 2030. In India, WaterAid
assessed the situation of WASH in 343 healthcare facilities across 12 districts
in six states.
The findings draw attention towards the poor status of WASH
in healthcare facilities. There is not only severe lack of WASH facilities in
the healthcare institutions but wherever present, most of them are either
dysfunctional or inconveniently situated for the expectant or lactating mother.
Healthy Start is a campaign by WaterAid India with an
overall goal to contribute towards preventing a significant number of neonatal
and maternal deaths through safe WASH in healthcare services.
Its major objectives include influence change in neonatal
and maternal healthcare for a shift from curative to preventive health
services; strengthen the health delivery system to ensure adequate and safe
WASH in healthcare facilities; and increase demand for safe WASH services by
communities in healthcare facilities.
The government’s National Rural Health Mission (launched in
2005 as NRHM) brought the issues related to newborn healthcare into limelight.
Since then, there have been several programmes and schemes launched to promote
maternal and neonatal healthcare with an emphasis on institutional delivery ensuring
a safe and professional birthing environment for the expectant mother and the
newborn.
For example, the Janani Suraksha Yojana (implemented in
2005) has led to an exponential increase in institutional delivery, currently
estimated at 80 per cent of all deliveries. The Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram
(started in 2011) introduced a special provision for both facility based and
home based newborn care to ensure neonatal care in Primary Health Centres,
Community Health Centres and District Hospitals.
Reproductive, Maternal,
Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCH+A) approach introduced in 2013
places an emphasis on ensuring a continuum of care from pre-pregnancy to childhood
with specific components for each segment.
The Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), launched in 2014 with an
aim to make India open defecation free by 2019 has increased its ambit to
address healthcare facilities as well. The specific national initiative programme
‘KAYAKALP’ launched by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in May 2015 as
a part of SBM promotes cleanliness, hygiene, infection control, and sustainable
practices related to WASH in healthcare institutions.
This offers a unique opportunity to ensure that every newborn
and mother is protected from preventable diseases and thereby enable that every
start of life is a Healthy Start.
SOURCE WATERAID INDIA
No comments:
Post a Comment