The Hindu : Front Page : Sick newborn care unit saves young lives in Guna

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Friday, May 15, 2009
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Sick newborn care unit saves young lives in Guna

Aarti Dhar

— PHOTO: UNICEF

Sick newborn care unit at Shivpuri in Madhya Pradesh.

GUNA (M.P.): Until two years ago, Guna district in Madhya Pradesh was identified with poverty, malnutrition, high infant and maternal mortality rate. Now, it is a model to be replicated across the country for high rates of institutional deliveries and infant survival.

The step that has made the difference in infant survival rate is the setting up of the Sick Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) at the District Hospital by the UNICEF in collaboration with the State government. The state-of-the-art facilities available at this unit generated a demand for improving the facilities at the hospital that has already started.

Started in December 2007, more than 2,000 infants have been saved till April 2009. Of the 2,363 admissions, only 321 died taking the survival rate to 85 per cent as against 15 per cent until two years ago.

“This is a revolution unfolding in Guna. The experiment has replicated in 12 districts and the State government will cover all the 50 districts within one year,” said Hamid Al Bashir, UNICEF State Representative for Madhya Pradesh. The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) has provided adequate funding to this experiment. There is human resources, commitment and innovation in the project, he added.

The Unit has the capacity to take 24 new born children. There are two sections – one for the children born in the District Hospital and another for those brought from outside. This has been done to check infection levels because those brought from outside have a higher degree of infection, explained Dr. Preeti Dwivedi, who was handpicked by the UNICEF for the project. The children here are kept at 36 degree Celsius temperature and there is a regular supply of oxygen through the Central Oxination System. The most common complaint is respiratory diseases, asphyxia, sepsis and meningitis.

With adequate funding, the Unit has been connected with a call centre and people can take help of the government vehicle – under the Janani Suraksha Yojana — to ferry children to this facility. However, it is the word of mouth that has made the Unit popular in the district. Such facilities are now in Shivpuri, Mandsaur, Sehore, Ratlam, Jabalpur, Bhopal, Satna and Gwalior.

While UNICEF provides technical assistance and funds for infrastructure development, the facilities across the State will eventually be run by the State government.

“With the success of the unit at Guna, UNICEF is flooded with demands for similar facilities across the country. We have officers from other States visiting the Unit,” Mr. Hamid said.

Corrections and Clarifications

A report "Sick newborn care unit saves young lives in Guna" (May 15, 2009) had the term "Central Oxination System" in the seventh paragraph. It is "Central Oxygenation System".

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