SHILLONG, March 14: Newly-elected Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Ampareen Lyngdoh on Tuesday took up a 100-day challenge to initiate reforms to improve the overall indexes in the health sector pertaining to Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) & Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), 100% coverage of the Megha Health Insurance Scheme and addressing the issue of teenage pregnancy.
Lyngdoh who held a review meeting with the officials of the Health Department here on Tuesday said that greater efforts would be made to ensure that there is marked improvement in delivery of services by the department in the next 100 days.
Underlining the importance of spacing between pregnancies, she said that mass awareness would be created to addresses the problem of teenage pregnancy and mental health issues.
“If I can achieve the target even by a quarter on the scale, I will be happy but this will require the cooperation of the entire Health Department,” Lyngdoh said.
She also asked the officers to focus on the well-being of the health workers.
During the meeting, the Health Department officials updated her on the progress made in the implementation of various health programmes and initiatives.
The officials highlighted the key achievements of the department in the past years, including the coverage for outpatient departments (OPD) under the Megha Health Insurance Scheme, the launch of the Meghalaya Health Systems Strengthening Project, the Meghalaya Medical Drugs and Services, the Meghalaya Medical Services Recruitment Board, rescue mission, and digitization and technology in health.
P. Sampath Kumar, Principal Secretary, said the Health Department is guided by a three-dimensional framework for universal health coverage according to the Meghalaya Health Policy, 2021. The dimensions are preventive care, which includes the demand and supply side of interventions, curative care focusing on health institutions such as the CHCs, PHCs, Sub Centres and enabling, which includes policies and measures.
Through these efforts, the Health Department expects to increase the lifespan of the people, the health-seeking behaviour of the citizens, preventive care and decrease out-of-pocket expenses, mortality rate, and curative care and to balance the total fertility rate, Kumar said.
The health officials also told the minister about the challenges faced by the department such as the shortage of healthcare professionals, providing quality healthcare to hard-to-reach areas, and the rising burden of non-communicable diseases due to several risk factors such as smoking, substance abuse, and others.
After the briefing, Lyngdoh appreciated the department’s efforts in improving the health of the people and providing quality health services to all the citizens of the state.
Assuring the health officials of the government’s support, she encouraged them to consider taking suggestions and recommendations from the local MLAs who represent their constituencies, as well as focusing on the well-being of the health workers.
