Varanasi: The Indian Institute of Technology-Banaras Hindu University (IIT-BHU) hosted a workshop facilitated by the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) on February 13.
The workshop centered on the transformative effects of the Ayushman Bharat program on maternal and infant mortality rates, particularly through the lens of institutional deliveries in east UP region.
This session was part of the ICSSR Awarded Short-term Empirical Research project for 2023-24, titled “Transforming Healthcare in Rural India: Assessing the Impact of Ayushman Bharat on Institutional Deliveries, Maternal Mortality, and Infant Mortality towards Achieving SDGs in UP-East Region.”
In her inaugural address, gynecologist Dr Vibha Mishra highlighted the essential integration of medical sciences with research and technology for healthcare improvements. She underlined the significant decline in Uttar Pradesh’s maternal mortality rate from over 400 to 200 per 1,000 births, attributing this success to the focused efforts of govt interventions and the Ayushman Bharat scheme.
The workshop also featured a second technical session where Dr Anand Jaiswal, Dr Cherian Samuel, and their colleagues presented an in-depth analysis of the project’s findings, covering beneficiary statistics, the scheme’s impact on mortality rates, and the level of public awareness and engagement with the Ayushman Card Scheme.
