“The country has achieved a momentous milestone in reduction of maternal mortality ratio (MMR) registering a significant decline from 130 in 2014-16 to 97 per lakh live births in 2018-20, but it remains our duty to remove all bottlenecks especially at field level to ensure that every mother is cared for and consequently ensure zero preventable maternal mortality.” This was stated by Minister of State (MoS) for Health and Family Welfare, Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar as she chaired the National Maternal Health Workshop, in New Delhi on 14 December.

Aligning with the ‘Sustainable Development Goal Agenda 2030’ for maternal mortality reduction, the theme of the workshop was “Striving for zero preventable maternal mortality”.

During the event, Dr Bharati unveiled the Midwifery-led care units (MLCUs) brochure and Standard Operating Protocol posters for labour rooms to enable quality of care around birth in public health facilities. She also introduced the Maternal health guidance booklet for community health officers (CHOs) and SUMAN community linkages brochure. 

The MoS informed everyone that “MMR decline has been stupendous from 130 in 2014-16 to 97 per lakh live births in 2018-20. The number of states which have achieved Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets, has also now risen from six to eight.”