Mysuru: Calling for intensified and targeted efforts to achieve zero infant mortality in the district, Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer S Yukesh Kumar has directed health officials to roll out focused action plans and strengthen ground-level monitoring across all taluks. He issued the directions during a District Health Society review meeting held on Tuesday, where maternal and child health indicators for 2025 were reviewed in detail.
Officials reported that the district recorded nine maternal deaths between January and December 2025. Despite this, the district’s maternal mortality ratio stood significantly lower than the state average. While the state ratio is 69, the district recorded a ratio of 32.2, which officials said reflects steady improvement in maternal healthcare delivery, institutional births, and referral systems.
Infant mortality below state average but concern remains
With respect to infant mortality, the district reported 311 infant deaths by the end of 2025. The infant mortality rate was recorded at 11.1 — considerably below the state average of 19. However, the CEO stressed that even lower-than-average figures should not lead to complacency.
He instructed health authorities to treat each infant death as preventable unless medically proven otherwise and to conduct detailed audits to identify systemic gaps. Block-level and taluk-level teams were told to prepare micro action plans focusing on vulnerable pockets, high-risk families, and low-access areas.
Health officers were directed to strengthen newborn care, ensure early postnatal follow-up, and improve referral transport readiness for neonatal emergencies.
Focus on malnutrition detection and rehabilitation
Highlighting preventive child healthcare, the CEO emphasised the role of Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) medical teams in early identification of malnourished and at-risk children.
He directed teams to intensify field screening in anganwadis and schools and ensure that severely malnourished children are admitted without delay to Nutrition Rehabilitation Centres. Officials were asked to maintain updated tracking registers and ensure follow-up after discharge so that relapse cases are minimised.
Nutrition counselling for parents, especially in low-income households, is also to be strengthened through coordinated outreach by health and women-and-child welfare departments.
Kayakalpa recognition for health centres
During the review, officials noted that 123 health centres across multiple taluks — including Mysuru, Nanjangud and T Narasipura — have received national-level certification under the Kayakalpa programme initiative for maintaining high standards of cleanliness, infection control, and patient-friendly services.
The CEO appreciated the staff of these centres and asked other facilities to replicate best practices in sanitation, biomedical waste management, patient flow systems, and record keeping.
He said quality of care and hygiene standards directly influence maternal and infant survival outcomes and must remain a continuous priority rather than a one-time certification effort.
Expansion of home healthcare scheme
Officials were also directed to expand the Gruha Arogya home healthcare initiative to urban areas in line with government guidelines. The scheme currently focuses on doorstep health screening, early diagnosis, and follow-up care, particularly for vulnerable populations.
Urban rollout plans are to include slum clusters, migrant worker settlements, and elderly populations living alone. Field teams will be trained to integrate maternal and child health checks into routine home visits.
Orders on vaccination and social risk factors
The CEO stressed the need for 100 per cent vaccination coverage, particularly for measles and rubella, and instructed officials to identify and cover all left-out and drop-out children through special drives.
He also called for coordinated inter-departmental action to address social factors that contribute to maternal and infant risk, including child marriage and illegal foetal gender detection practices. Authorities were told to strengthen surveillance and reporting mechanisms and to conduct awareness campaigns at the community level.
Data accuracy and programme completion stressed
Health staff were instructed to ensure timely and accurate updating of beneficiary and service data on official portals such as Seva Sindhu, as planning and fund allocation increasingly depend on real-time data reporting.
With the 2025–26 financial year nearing closure, the CEO directed that all national health programmes must achieve full physical and financial targets through tighter planning, regular review meetings, and strict follow-up at every administrative level.
He concluded that sustained field supervision, accurate data, preventive care, and early intervention would be key to further reducing maternal and infant deaths in the coming year.