Pregnant woman carried to hospital on bamboo shaft in Odisha

By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, September 23, 2017: Odisha on Saturday announced to provide Rs 1,000 as transportation cost to pregnant women coming from remote areas to hospitals for their delivery.

The state government’s decisions comes in the wake of a series of media reports on several incidents of pregnant women being carried on shoulder / cot or walking to reach hospital for delivery.

As per the new scheme, those pregnant women reaching hospitals by arranging vehicles on their own will get Rs 1,000.

The entire cost will be covered under the “SAMPURNA” scheme and over Rs 6 crore would be spent annually.

“The government will provide financial support for pregnant women from difficult villages where 102/108 ambulances or four-wheeler vehicle cannot reach,” Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said while reviewing the activities of National Health Mission.

About 7,853 villages covering all 30 districts would be covered under the scheme, officials said hoping that more than 60,000 pregnant women would be benefited annually.

Patnaik also announced that the state government is launching the ASHA Kalyan Yojana which will benefit more than 47,000 ASHA workers functioning in the state.

The scheme provides for assured activities to ensure a monthly incentives of Rs 1,000 to each ASHA worker, provision of one-time honorarium of Rs 10,000 to serving ASHA worker on attaining age of 60 years, provision of compensation of Rs 1 lakh for death, enhanced compensation for permanent disability up to Rs 1 lakh and support under ASHA education programme.

The government would spend more than Rs 56 crore per annum.

The Chief Minister also launched the NHM Employees’ Welfare Fund which provides for compensation up to Rs 6 lakh for death or permanent disability above 80 per cent and compensation up to Rs 2.5 lakh for partial disability.

“It will also provide for reimbursement of the cost of medical expenses up to Rs 3 lakh in a year for the critical health condition,” said Patnaik.