Janani Suraksha – An unfulfilled promise
Barwani is a small district in the South-western corner of Madhya Pradesh, where it abuts Maharashtra. It has been a district since 1998, being earlier part of West Nimar or Khargone district. Before independence it was a princely state and the remnants of the princely state are visible as the incongruous Ranjeeth Club in the middle of the city. Barwani is a small sleepy town with little claim to fame, and my visit to this place was occasioned by reports coming to us earlier in the year that an exceptional number of maternal deaths were taking place at the district hospital there, and the local people had protested. As many of you may know the Government of India is currently obsessed with the issue of maternal deaths and has launched a large scheme – Janani Suraksha Yojana to reduce maternal deaths. I was part of a small team of public health experts trying to understand the reasons behind these deaths and if they indicated any kind of systems failure. The barren landscape of Barwa...