Gynaecologists & Obstetricians renew pledge to reduce maternal mortality ratio & eliminate female foeticide
Bangalore, March 8, 2013:
In an effort to reduce the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) and counter the rising incidence of female foeticide in
Karnataka, gynaecologists and obstetricians, today renewed their pledge to fight both the issues through sustained awareness campaigns and advocacy programs across the state on the occasion of the International Women’s Day.
The MMR in Karnataka is amongst the highest in South Indian states and it is a serious cause for concern. In Karnataka, the MMR is 198 for every 100,000. This is significantly higher compared to Andhra Pradesh (157) or Tamil Nadu (97) or even Kerala (27). Similarly, female foeticide is also highly prevalent in several parts of Karnataka.
“The state cannot improve its Human Development Index (HDI) score unless we tackle MMR and female foeticide successfully. Today, we are living in an evolved society with an improved health care delivery services, but it is highly disturbing to note that the MMR and the growing incidence of female foeticide still appear like challenges.
We, gynaecologists and obstetricians, today renew our pledge to vigorously overcome these challenges by educating all stakeholders effectively,” said Dr.Hema Divakar, President, Federation of Obstetric & Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI).
The FOGSI, the apex body of obstetricians and gynaecologists in the country, and the Bangalore Society of Obstetrics & Gynaecology (BSOG) today jointly organised skits and street plays on themes, such as “Saving Mothers” and “Save The Girl Child” at the Freedom Park in Bangalore.
Six senior doctors from FOGSI 150 paramedical staff of leading hospitals performed the skits and street plays in the presence of representatives of the medical fraternity, including FOGSI Vice-president-Elect Dr. Sheela V. Mane, BSOG President-Elect Dr. Jyothika Desai and multilingual actress Rashree Ponnappa. The street plays and skits received tremendous response from the public gathered to witness the performances.
More than 80 men from Mcure attended the event to express solidarity with FOGSI and BSOG. Various posters to depict the problems faced by women and the girl child across the country were brought out on the occasion.
Commenting on the initiative, Dr.Vidya V. Bhat, President, BSOG, remarked, “We have been striving for a long time to educate all the stakeholders concerned in an effort to reduce MMR in the state and to tackle female foeticide effectively. We felt the need to extend our training program to even the stakeholders among public and in the
cities. Skits and street plays are effective tools in conveying the message, especially our campaigns. We will extend this campaign to other parts of the state as well with a long term vision of fighting the two issues.”
The FOGSI and BSOG have already launched several initiatives aimed at reducing the MMR and eliminating female foeticide in the state.
Recently, FOGSI launched a state-level training program for frontline health care providers in remote districts of Bidar, Gulbarga, Bagalkote, Bijapur and the rest of Karnataka where MMR and female foeticide are high.
