Chandigarh, March 18– Haryana Additional Chief Secretary Health and Family Welfare Department, Sh. Sudhir Rajpal instructed the Director General Health Services (DGHS) to conduct Community Health Centre (CHC) wise sex ratio analysis in the state. Strict action must be taken against CHCs showing poor performance in this regard.
He was presiding over a meeting with officers from the Health, Women and Child Development (WCD), and Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) departments here, to review the progress of various measures being implemented to further improve sex ratio at birth.
The ACS also laid emphasis on a focused, multi-departmental approach to address this challenge.
In the meeting, Sh. Rajpal also directed the WCD Department to ramp up Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) activities aimed at further improving the sex ratio in the state. He proposed the use of awareness vans to educate communities on the importance of gender equality and the need to improve the sex ratio. In addition, he suggested screening short films about the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) initiative in cinema halls across the state. He also encouraged the promotion of cultural practices like “Kuan Puja” to celebrate the birth of a girl child.
Sh. Rajpal further emphasized the need for better tracking of pregnancies by the Health Department. He instructed that every pregnancy must be registered in first trimester on the Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) portal. If registration is not completed, it should only be allowed with special permission from the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of the concerned district. Action should be taken against responsible person for any negligence in non-registration of pregnancies.
In addition, the Additional Chief Secretary laid significant emphasis on inspecting Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) centers. He directed the Health Department officers to carry out raids on such centers involved in illegal practices of sex determination. He said that the Ayush Department should also be involved in monitoring BAMS practitioners for any illegal practices related to sex determination.
To further combat the illegal sale of MTP kits, Sh. Sudhir Rajpal directed FDA officials to report on the progress of the online and offline sale of MTP kits to the CMOs across the state. He also said that it should be ensured that MTP kits should only be placed at registered locations.
In a move to recognize and promote positive role models, Sh. Rajpal suggested that female sarpanches with only girl children be involved as brand ambassadors in campaigns aimed at improving the sex ratio. He directed officers to identify five such sarpanches from each district for this initiative. In addition, he recommended conducting counseling sessions for families with a single girl child through the 104 helpline.
The meeting was attended by Dr. Manish Bansal, Director General Health Services (DGHS), Smt Monika Malik, Director WCD department, Dr. Mukta Kumar, Chief Medical Officer of Panchkula, and other senior officials from the Health, WCD, and FDA departments.
