Pregnant women’s health should be family’s joint responsibility — Irani

Mumbai, Sep. 6 (PTI): Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Smriti Irani on Monday said pregnant women’s health should be a joint responsibility of the family.

Speaking at Poshan Jagrukta Abhiyaan (nutrition awareness campaign) programmes organised by the Union Ministry for Women and Child Development and Union Ministry for Minority Affairs for women from minority communities, she also stressed on the importance of good nutrition.

Discussions on maternal health are no longer confined to women. Nowadays, men are also thinking about women’s health. Pregnant women’s health should be a joint responsibility of the family, she said.

During the day-long programme, Irani and Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi interacted with members of Muslim, Buddhist, Jain, Sikh, Christian and Parsi communities.

Irani said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has turned women’s issues into a social issue.

If we want to be able to tell the world that not a single child in India suffers from malnutrition, then it is important for members from all communities to come forward, Irani said.

Naqvi said health and hygiene, ignored earlier, are the mainstay of a result-oriented priority programme by the Modi-led government.

The Central government has worked on a war-footing to provide affordable and quality health services to the country, Naqvi said.

The National Digital Health Mission was launched on August 15 last year to provide a health ID to every Indian, he said. Over 2.11 crore people were provided free medical treatment under the Jan Arogya Yojana, he said, adding 15 new AIIMS were approved since 2014.

Over 8,000 Jan Aushadhi Kendras across the country are giving medicines at affordable prices to the poor, the BJP leader said. About four crore children were vaccinated against various diseases under Mission Indradhanush, he added.

While a year ago there was a lack of adequate resources in India to tackle a pandemic, the country is now self-reliant in coronavirus vaccines, testing kits, medical oxygen and Covid-19 hospitals, he said. The world’s largest free coronavirus vaccination drive is going on in India, where over 69 crore people have been vaccinated, he said.

Free ration has been provided to over 80 crore people during the pandemic, Naqvi said.

Modi’s commitment to the health and well-being of the people has ensured that despite having a huge population, India has faced coronavirus challenges effectively compared to those nations who already had better and adequate resources, he said.

The Central government’s Poshan Abhiyaan has become an effective mass movement to eradicate malnutrition in the country, especially among children, adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers, he said.