Rajasthan will shortly become the first State in the country with a complete digitisation of Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) services following the implementation of a project with the assistance of a global health organisation. The initiative will ensure real-time monitoring of RCH services.
The National Health Mission-Rajasthan has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Johns Hopkins Programme for International Education in Gynaecology and Obstetrics (Jhpiego) for the digitisation work. The RCH related to pregnant women and newborn children was proposed to be digitised under the project.
The MoU will be applicable to the activities related to digitised clinical care and maternal health services of institutional deliveries in hospitals with high loads. Additional Chief Secretary (Medical & Health) Shubhra Singh said here that it would facilitate prompt updating of the data in the pregnancy, child tracking and health services management system (PCTS).
During the initial phase, the auxiliary nurse midwives (ANMs) in Bundi, Karauli and Udaipur districts will be given a kit with digital devices, with which they will register their health reports directly in the PCTS through their mobile phones. The testing facilities will be available to pregnant women near their homes every Thursday, which is observed as the safe motherhood day.
The maternal mortality ratio in the State has decreased from 255 per one lakh live births in 2012-14 to 113 in 2018-20. The decline has been identified as the fastest in the country, in which new interventions in the RCH services have played a significant role.
