It makes political sense to invest in women: Family Planning Association

The Family Planning Association (FPA) of India on Friday organised a meeting of MPs, MLAs, and MLCs to discuss the UN Millennium Development Goal 5(a) improve maternal health and 5(b) universal access to reproductive health.

Of the 30 elected members invited to take part in the meet, only two turned up. 

Roshan Baig, Shivajinagar MLA, and Mahalakshmi Layout MLA Narendra Babu, were the only elected representatives present at
the meet.  A meeting of former and present MLAs on the same day had kept most representatives preoccupied.

Baig said it is the lethargic attitude of the bureaucracy that is impacting healthcare. “It’s been almost a year now since the authorities are pursuing a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the Bowring Hospital. Finally, the approval has come for a 10-bed NICU that will be inaugurated shortly,” he said.

Thrashing Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), he said the primary health centres of the city that come under the BBMP are in a miserable state. The situation is hopeless as far as maternal hospitals are concerned.

“If in Bangalore the primary health centres are in such a bad shape, imagine the plight of the centres in the remote areas of Shimoga or Dharwad,” he added. 

Recently, there was a meeting on UN Millennium Development Goal at Phuket, where the representatives of nine south Asian countries took part. “The good news is that India is doing better than other countries in various aspects,” pointed out Sujatha Natarajan, national president, FPA.

“It makes political sense to invest in women. Thus, politicians should consider women as political dividend and focus on their health,” she said.

Emphasising on breast feeding and sanitation facilities for women, former minister Rani Satish said, “Maternal health should be improved with financial contribution from the government.”

“There are a number of five-star hospitals in the city, which remain unaffordable for the common man. We need both political will and bureaucratic skills to achieve the basic requirements,” said Satish.

“Another essential factor is to create confidence about government hospitals among the public. People prefer delivering in small
nursing homes than a hospital like Vanivilas,” added Satish.