Chandigarh, March 18– Haryana Additional Chief Secretary Health and Family Welfare Department, Sh. Sudhir Rajpal gave an instruction. He told the Director General Health Services (DGHS) to conduct Community Health Centre (CHC) wise sex ratio analysis in the state. Strict action must be taken against CHCs showing poor performance in this regard.

ACS also laid emphasis on a focused, multi-departmental approach

He presided over a meeting with officers from the Health, Women and Child Development (WCD), and Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) departments to review the progress of various measures aimed at further improving the sex ratio at birth. The ACS also laid emphasis on a focused, multi-departmental approach to address this challenge.

rajpal urges IEC drive to improve sex ratio

In the meeting, Sh. Rajpal also directed the WCD Department to ramp up Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) activities aimed at further improving the sex ratio in the state. He proposed the use of awareness vans to educate communities on the importance of gender equality and the need to improve the sex ratio. In addition, he suggested screening short films about the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) initiative in cinema halls across the state. He also encouraged the promotion of cultural practices like “Kuan Puja” to celebrate the birth of a girl child. Sh. Rajpal further emphasized the need for better tracking of pregnancies by the Health Department. He instructed officials to register every pregnancy in the first trimester on the Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) portal. If someone does not complete the registration, they can proceed only with special permission from the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of the concerned district.Authorities should take action against the responsible person for any negligence in pregnancy non-registration.

DGHS : Rajpal orders crackdown on illegal MTP practices

In addition, the Additional Chief Secretary laid significant emphasis on inspecting Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) centers. He directed the Health Department officers to carry out raids on such centers involved in illegal practices of sex determination. He said the Ayush Department should also participate. They should monitor BAMS practitioners for any illegal practices related to sex determination. To further combat the illegal sale of MTP kits, Sh. Sudhir Rajpal instructed FDA officials. They should report on the progress of the online and offline sale of MTP kits.Officials should send the reports to the CMOs across the state. He also said that they must ensure MTP kits are placed only at registered locations. In a move to recognize and promote positive role models, Sh. Rajpal suggested involving female sarpanches with only girl children as brand ambassadors. These ambassadors would be part of campaigns aimed at improving the sex ratio. He directed officers to identify five such sarpanches from each district for this initiative. In addition, he recommended conducting counseling sessions for families with a single girl child through the 104 helpline. Dr. Manish Bansal, Director General Health Services (DGHS), Smt. Monika Malik, Director of the WCD Department, Dr. Mukta Kumar, Chief Medical Officer of Panchkula, and other senior officials from the Health, WCD, and FDA departments attended the meeting.