India to emulate Gujarat in mother-child health tracking

GANDHINAGAR - The country is set to emulate Gujarat in tracking pregnant women and children on a continuing basis through a constant monitoring of their health, nutrition and immunisation profile.

Twenty-three officials of health and family welfare departments and National Informatics Centre (NIC) from eight states are participating in a three-day training workshop to familiarise themselves with the Gujarat Model of what is now popularly known as “E-Mamta”, an official spokesperson said here Wednesday.

E-Mamta provides for an ID-based online family health database covering the entire rural, urban, slum and slum-like population, besides hundred percent tracking for complete maternal child services.

In-built into the database are norms that ensure that services are provided to the mother and child even if they have migrated to some other parts of the state. SMS alerts to beneficiaries and appropriate authorities will be generated through E-Mamta for better service delivery, improved coverage and follow-up.

“Detailed monthly work plans have been provisioned into the system for village-level service providers to ensure complete coverage of beneficiaries,” said Anju Sharma, National Rural Health Mission director, Gujarat.

According to her, the three-day national workshop on mother and child tracking system is being held to familiarise health and family welfare as well as the NIC officials from other states of the country.

The mission director pointed out that the applications of Mother and Child Tracking System, has been highly appreciated and the model has been recommended by the union government for implementation in all the states.

The potential outcome of the programme is reduction in infant mortality rate and mother mortality rate, universal coverage of immunisation and again reduction in anaemia and malnutrition, she added.

The program covers the entire continuum of services starting from ante-natal care to post-natal care of mother, child immunisation, nutrition and family planning services. The system called E-Mamta aims to help service provider through case-based tracking of all pregnant mothers and children up to 19 years of age to effectively monitor the provisions of service in the state.

Gujarat’s E-Mamta project has achieved national recognition. The software was demonstrated at a national workshop on NRHM organised in Bhopal from July 2 to 4 last, which was attended by the union health secretary and health secretaries and NRHM mission directors of all the states.