CORRESPONDENT
SHILLONG: Meghalaya has set a target of raising institutional deliveries from 65.6 per cent to at least 95 per cent over the next three years, Health and Family Welfare Minister Wailadmiki Shylla told the Assembly.
Shylla said institutional deliveries had increased from 58.1 per cent in NFHS-5 to 65.6 per cent in NFHS-6. He said the State aimed to surpass the national average of 90 per cent to ensure safer childbirth.
The minister said maternal deaths had fallen by over 56 per cent and infant deaths by 40 per cent since 2020-21. He also highlighted increased public confidence in government health facilities, with patient footfall rising from 17 lakh in 2018 to 25 lakh in 2026.
Shylla said the government had strengthened maternal healthcare through the Chief Minister Save Motherhood Scheme, transit homes, free transportation and the Mother App for tracking pregnant women. He, however, acknowledged a major shortage of specialist doctors in the State.
Also Read: Meghalaya Dy CM Prestone Tynsong asks CS, DGP to trace state's residents in Nepal amid disaster