Checking high rates of maternal & infant mortality in Meghalaya

SHILLONG: Meghalaya has initiated steps to address the high rates of maternal and infant mortality (MMR and IMR). The State Cabinet has approved the initiation of post-graduate diploma courses for addressing shortage of specialist doctors in Meghalaya in this regard.

Driven by an objective to address the clinical dimension aspect — one of the three identified causes contributing to high MMR and IMR in Meghalaya, the State Government has approved a policy for addressing shortage of medical specialists in Meghalaya, which will be implemented through the adoption of alternate models for responding to the shortage of medical specialists (ADARSH) project. It is an attempt to scale up the alternate models by training doctors in the public sector.

The State government has also partnered with the 'Public Health Foundation of India' (PHFI) and the Indian Institute of Public Health (IIPH). Under this initiative, the district hospitals will witness a strengthening of their capital infrastructure as well as the staffing of specialists.

It is anticipated that the presence of post-graduate trainees in the hospital around the year will lead to better services and higher utilization of their services.

The State has also adopted the model of 'College of Physicians and Surgeons' (CPS) which allows the State government to reserve all seats for candidates who are domiciles of the State and preference is given to in-service doctors.

The CPS is one of the oldest post-graduate medical education institutions in India.

It has been recognised that medical specialists are scarce in Meghalaya and availability of specialists like gynaecologists, paediatricians, anaesthesiologists and radiologists is crucial to provide care to the high-risk pregnant mothers and low birth weight children as well as to conduct CS (Caesarean) operations.

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