Karnataka targets MMR below 70, sets roadmap for zero preventable maternal deaths
Bengaluru, Sep 25 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) The Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Department on Friday unveiled a roadmap aimed at reducing the state’s Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) to below 70 per one lakh live births and achieving the long-term goal of zero preventable maternal deaths.
The roadmap was discussed at a state-level workshop on the SUMAN Roadmap 2030 under the Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan (SUMAN) programme here. The workshop was held under the theme “From Roadmap to Results: Accelerating Karnataka’s Journey Towards Zero Preventable Maternal Deaths”.
Health Minister U.T. Khader, who inaugurated the workshop and delivered the presidential address, stressed the need to strengthen quality, timely and respectful maternal healthcare services across the state.
According to the state Health and Family Welfare Department, as per the latest Sample Registration System (SRS) estimate for 2022-24, Karnataka’s MMR stands at 73 per one lakh live births. “The state has set an immediate target of bringing the ratio below 70 while working towards eliminating preventable maternal deaths.”
The roadmap seeks to shift the focus from healthcare coverage to quality, risk identification to timely intervention, programme implementation to measurable outcomes and state-level progress to district-level accountability.
The state will adopt a life-cycle approach to maternal healthcare, beginning with pre-conception care and continuing through pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. Greater emphasis will be placed on identifying and managing anaemia, nutritional deficiencies, non-communicable diseases, and other risk factors before pregnancy.
For high-risk pregnancies, the department plans to strengthen the entire chain from identification and risk stratification to referral, treatment, follow-up, and safe delivery.
The roadmap also places emphasis on preparedness for obstetric emergencies, including postpartum haemorrhage (PPH), hypertensive emergencies, and sepsis. Health institutions will be strengthened with essential medicines, equipment, trained personnel, blood availability, and emergency transportation and referral systems.
The Maternal Death Surveillance and Response (MDSR) system will also be strengthened. The department said maternal death reviews should go beyond documentation and identify root causes, initiate corrective action and ensure follow-up to prevent similar deaths.
As part of the roadmap, Karnataka will launch a “Zero Maternal Death Gram Panchayat” campaign to increase community participation in preventing maternal deaths. Gram Panchayats will be encouraged to identify pregnant and high-risk pregnant women, link them to antenatal care, strengthen birth preparedness and referral plans, support emergency transportation and ensure postpartum follow-up.
Seven key strategies have been identified under the roadmap — pre-conception care, quality antenatal care and high-risk pregnancy tracking, quality delivery care, preparedness for PPH and obstetric emergencies, strengthened MDSR, the Zero Maternal Death Gram Panchayat campaign, and digital monitoring and accountability.
The department said districts would be the centre of implementation, with priority districts identifying three to five actions based on their local maternal health challenges. District action plans will specify what needs to be done, who will be responsible, timelines and how outcomes will be measured.
Representatives from priority districts, including Regional Chief Health Officers, District Health Officers, medical superintendents, obstetricians and gynaecologists, along with state officials, technical experts and development partners, participated in the workshop.
The department said the state would provide policy direction, technical guidance, standards, resources and monitoring support, while districts, healthcare institutions and communities would lead implementation.
“Every mother deserves safe and respectful care. Every preventable maternal death must be prevented,” the department said, reiterating its commitment to reducing the MMR below 70 and moving towards zero preventable maternal deaths.
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