More Janani Express vehicles to be deployed

BHUBANESWAR: The success of the Janani Express programme in promoting institutional deliveries among the population in remote pockets has prompted the government to deploy more vehicles per block. The Health and Family Welfare Department has decided to deploy 58 more Janani Express vehicles in the 18 focus districts. Janani Express is in operation in 299 blocks as of now and the rest would be covered very soon. Of the 58 additional vehicles, around 10 have been put to use.The free transportation system from the villages to the hospitals for deliveries has found acceptance among the people in the rural backward areas. The case load per Janani Express has gone up from 30, when it was launched in 2007-08, to 55 and is rising. The areas, which have more population, are being provided with additional vehicles,  National Rural Health Mission Director Dr Pramod Meherda said.The programme has raised institutional deliveries in the State to an appreciable level. While institutional delivery was around 36 per cent in 2006-07, it rose to 72 per cent in 2008-09 after the introduction of the programme. In 2009-10 it increased to 77 per cent and is currently estimated at 81 per cent. As a result, the infant mortality rate in Orissa, which was the highest in the country at 97 per 1000 live births in 2000, has dipped to less than 65 in 2009.