Bengal sets benchmark in kids' healthcare; outshines Gujarat

Kolkata: The Mamata Banerjee-led Bengal government has once again set a benchmark in the field of children's healthcare outshining Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state Gujarat.

The latter has often been hyped as a 'model state' by a section of Central and state BJP leaders. However, the National Family Health Survey portray a different story. Sharing the figures of a survey, Trinamool Congress tweeted: "Hon'ble CM @MamataOfficial led WB Govt. promises and continues to deliver holistic welfare to its citizenry. The state out performed PM @narendramodi's home state Gujarat on various children's health metrics. The Bengal Model has set a benchmark in good governance."

According to a National Family Health Survey, the infant mortality rate (IMR) (per 1000 live births) in Bengal stands at 22 whereas in Gujarat the figure remains at 31.2.

Gujarat even has the maximum number of under-nutritional children who are underweight compared to the Bengal figure. The Survey said that around 39.7 per cent of the total number of children born in Gujarat is underweight. In the case of Bengal, the figure has been recorded at 32.2 per cent.

The National Family Health Survey revealed that 32.2 per cent children below six were victims of stunting in Bengal whereas in Gujarat the figure goes up to 39 per cent.

The percentage of wasted children in Bengal is much on the lower side compared to that of Gujarat.

Bengal registered 7.1 per cent of wasted children while in the case of Gujarat the figure was recorded at 10.6.

An infrastructural revamp carried out by the state government in rural areas has yielded fruitful results. The national survey shows that institutional delivery has reached around 92 per cent in 2019-20 compared to 75.2 per cent in 2015-16.

Earlier, NFHS 4 showed that the institutional birth rate in public facilities remained at 56.6 per cent during 2015-16. But the number in the latest report has gone up to 72.4 per cent, marking a significant improvement in the past four years.

The Bengal government had set up 'pre-delivery huts' in the far-flung areas to provide better healthcare facilities to pregnant women free of cost. It was later announced as a model project by the Centre. These pre-delivery huts have turned out to be extremely beneficial for pregnant women, who often face difficulties in reaching the district hospitals.

Bengal preferred to construct basic infrastructure in the rural sector, allocated more funds for schools, healthcare, sports, micro-entrepreneurs, traditional craftsmen, and artists, and introduced a plethora of welfare schemes for marginalised people and the womenfolk.

Various flagship schemes like Sabuj Sathi, Kanyashree, Khadya Sathi, Swasthya Sathi, Lakshmir Bhandar, Students Credit Card etc brought a sea change in the socio-economic condition of people.