Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on October 8 directed officials to intensify efforts to reduce maternal, infant and neonatal mortality, tackle child malnutrition and improve the quality of school education.
Chairing a high-level meeting under the government’s PRAYASS initiative at Lok Seva Bhawan, Majhi reviewed the functioning of the Health and Family Welfare, Women and Child Development, and School and Mass Education departments. He called for better coordination and more effective delivery of essential services, with a focus on resolving problems at the grassroots level.
The PRAYASS initiative, which stands for Proactive Governance Attempt for Yielding Results and Advancing Social Sector, aims to provide a structured platform to identify complex social-sector problems and find timely, sustainable solutions.
Focus on maternal and child health
Reviewing the health sector, Majhi directed the Health and Family Welfare Department to take stronger measures to bring down the maternal mortality rate. He also called for a sustained, campaign-based effort to reduce infant and neonatal deaths.
The Chief Minister stressed the need to improve healthcare access for pregnant women and newborns in rural and remote areas. He also called for greater accountability among healthcare workers and stronger emergency services at hospitals.
Maternal and infant health was central to the review, with officials asked to improve the delivery of essential services to women and children, particularly in areas where access to healthcare can be difficult.
Suposhita Odisha campaign to be strengthened
The meeting also reviewed child malnutrition, including stunting and wasting. Majhi directed officials to intensify the Suposhita Odisha campaign to improve the nutritional status of mothers and children.
He stressed the need for stronger quality checks on food and nutritional supplements distributed through anganwadi centres, along with better monitoring of their supply and distribution.
The directions at the meeting focused on ensuring that the food and nutritional supplements provided through these centres meet quality requirements and reach their intended beneficiaries.
Foundational learning a priority
On education, Majhi called for improving foundational learning from the primary school level and asked the School and Mass Education Department to make efforts to raise student learning outcomes.
He also stressed that teachers should concentrate on classroom teaching and core academic activities. The emphasis, according to the meeting's stated priorities, was on improving the quality of learning rather than limiting the review to administrative functioning.
