Imphal West district stands second position in Health Development Index

Our Correspondent IMPHAL,Febuary 1 Imphal West district stood second position in Health Development Index across the country according to the latest data available at National Sample Survey Office. The index is based on datas of currently married women, like if they were 18 at the time of marriage, if they received post natal care within 48 hours, used contraception, were aware of HIV/AIDS, and if their last two children between 12 and 23 months of age were fully immunized. Disclosing this, the State Health Services Director Dr Okram Ibomcha said efforts are on to achieve similar feats for the remaining eight districts of the state as well. Manipur would have enough doctors to fulfill the World Health Organization guideline of one doctor for every 1000 people within in the next 2/3 years. Currently the State has one doctor for every 1100 population, he added. Altogether, there are 2969 doctors including 2429 allopathy doctors and 540 Ayush doctors in the State, he said. Ibomcha who also holds Director of National Health Mission further said there is one nurse for every 260 people in Manipur, which is a good number. India as a whole has one nurse for every 2450 people. This is one reason why Manipur has scored best Infant Mortality Rate or stood second after Goa in the last few years, he added. He also informed that the State Health Society is expanding its health care facilities in trauma, cancer, diabetes, iodine deficiency, malaria, TB etc. He continued that the State Cabinet has already approved to introduce tertiary health care service for which a new hospital would be set up at Imphal. Urging the village chiefs, public, and civil society organizations to co-operate with the doctors who have been recently posted at different areas, he also called upon the the doctors to be dutiful and committed in their service towards good health care in the State. He said that there is need to propose the Government to earmark required funds for the construction of quarters for doctors and medical staff and providing water and power supplies, adding that the directorate is putting in effort to convert all the Public Health Centre(PHC) and Community Health Centres(CHC) as 24X7 child delivery centres.There are about 80 PHCs and 16 CHCs in the state.