Absence of health camps in Igatpuri invites flak

NASHIK: The Manav Vikas Samiti of Nashik has questioned the failure of Nandgaon-Sado primary health centre (PHC) in Igatpuri taluka to conduct health camps for pregnant women as part of the Manav Vikas Mission.
According to a letter issued by the district collector, the ex-officio president of the samiti, to the zilla parishad, Nashik, chief executive officer, mission officials visited the spot during in November last year but found no records of any health camps being conducted.
An MVM official associated with monitoring process said the officers had visited the Nandgaon-Sado PHC in Trimbakeshwar in November 2014, checked its functioning and found no activities related to the scheme. In accordance with the schemes, pregnant women should be given proper health treatment during the period, for which regular health check-up camps are expected. Besides, a woman gets Rs 2,000 in her eighth or ninth month into pregnancy and Rs 2,000 within a month of delivery.
"In all, an expecting mother gets government help of Rs 4,000 just before and after the delivery of the child. Besides, regular health checkups are carried out during the period that helps maintain the health of the expecting mother and the child," the official said.
During the surprise visit, the officers of the primary health centres failed to mention the number of the camps organized by the facility in their area and the number of expecting mothers getting the aid under as part of the Manav Vikas Mission. "Between April 2014 and November 2014, there was not a single camp organised or the money forwarded to the expecting mothers' account. The amount was pending with the zilla parishad and the health department. There was no issue of availability of funds. Since this was a serious health issue, we raised it with the collector, who in turn issued the letter to the zilla parishad CEO seeking clarification," the official said.