Chiranjeevi Yojana
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2000 — 2010
Birth of Hope Health initiative undertaken in Gujarat—Chiranjeevi Yojana—ensures better care of a pregnant woman and her child
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hiranjeevi means long life and with the same meaning Chiranjeevi Yojana is working towards long life of mothers and babies in Gujarat. Implemented by the Government of Gujarat, this scheme aims at encouraging the BPL families to improve access to institutional delivery. This is done by providing financial protection to these families and covering their out-ofpocket costs incurred on travel to reach the healthcare facility. The scheme also provides for financial support to the accompanying person for loss of wages. This scheme empowers the poor to seek skilled care and emergency obstetric care. It is estimated that in the state of Gujarat about 1.2 mil-
lion children are born each year and 4600 mothers of these children do not survive at the time of delivery because of several reasons. The maternal mortality rate for the state is 389 per 100,000 live births. Primary reason for these maternal deaths is that majority of deliveries are domiciliary and are conducted by untrained persons in unhygienic conditions. The Chiranjeevi Yojana uses several mechanisms to target the BPL family. Among them, the main mechanism being used is the BPL card. When the scheme was initiated the pilot districts were selected based on remoteness and included regions facing highest infant mortality and maternal mortality. The private medical practitioners (mainly gynaecologists) in these regions were empanelled
in the scheme to provide maternity health services. These providers are reimbursed a fixed rate for deliveries carried out by them. Under the scheme, the health department has empanelled and contracted private practicing gynaecologists who had their own small hospitals in rural areas using a few selection criteria. Based on the experience of Gujarat state, other states where private providers are available and where government services are non-functional or of poor quality, the state governments can explore the option of PPP to provide comprehensive emergency obstetric care services to poor women in India. It will pave the way to save 117,000 maternal deaths and large portion of neonatal deaths which happen every year in India.
Fact File n Launched in: December 2005 n Target population: BPL families n Target region: Initially launched in five districts viz., Banaskantha, Dahod, Kutch, Panchmahals, and Sabarkantha; now extended to entire state n Key technology used: Smart Cards
January 2011 < www.ehealthonline.org <
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