Dear friends,

I just came back from flood affected Bihar doing assessments in the flood affected areas. Though we collect details of Pregnant Women and Lactating women, responding to their needs as an individual agency is becoming quite difficult. We have found on an average, 3 pregnant women per 100 people living in the camps. And in one camp, two women gave premature birth to babies, where both the babies died. The hospitals are not in a position to provide maternal care to the affected people during the times of disaster.

For both Saharsa and Madhubani districts, we have found only one Mission Hospital in Madhepura, which has facility for Neonatal care. But that too unfortunately is closed due to flood waters entering in to the hospital campus. There were various agencies who are providing medical care, but not specifically on Maternal and Neonatal care.

There is a need for setting up few camps specifically for pregnant mothers and lactating women with proper water and Sanitation facilities, food and appropriate medical facilities. In the absence of specific camps, their special needs would be difficult to address. We could encourage few agencies to specialize in setting up emergency maternity care in times of Disasters. On the other hand, donors also need to prioritize specific allocation of grants to the agencies that cater specifically to maternity and Allied services.

Thanks
Salathiel R Nalli

Development Consultant, Hyderabad.