Chapter 12: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

Introduction

National Health Mission

1. Providing low cost public sector healthcare to urban low income families
2. Expansion of teaching and training programs for healthcare professionals.
3. Research and development in healthcare
4. HRD for healthcare
5. Developing IT systems for healthcare and improving accessibility
6. Create a framework for universal health care.
7. Strengthen food and drug regulatory system
8. Regulate medical practice

National Rural Health Mission

Establish fully functional, decentralised, community owned primary healthcare centers to give access to affordable health care to rural people.

National Urban Health Mission

Providing access to quality healthcare to urban poor and vulnerable sections by covering all towns with population of 50000+ in a phased manner.

India Newborn Action Plan

To reduce stillbirth ratio to single digits by 2030  and reduce neonatal mortality ratio to single digit by 2030.

Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana

Scheme was launched in 2010 and the National Food Security Act, 2013 made it mandatory for the Government to make it a universal coverage scheme. Under this scheme all pregnant women except those that get paid maternity benefits from government or private employers are covered.

The scheme has conditional cash transfer for women [pregnant or lactating] aged 19 years and above for upto 2 living children. It aims to promote institutional delivery and reduce maternal mortality rate by transferring Rs. 4000 to women who make institutional deliveries.

It also aims to offset wage loss suffered by women during pregnancy. This makes it very important for female workforce of the unorganized sector who make up 90% of total working women. In India where every third woman is undernourished and second woman is anaemic such a scheme has remarkable potential. Tamil Nadu is the only state that has such a scheme and data reveals it has reduced infant and maternal mortality rates [2nd lowest after Kerela]. However activists have complained that the pre-condition that only upto 2 births are covered has excluded nearly 60% of the women especially from tribal and dalit communities. Also the insufficient budgetary allocation is a problem for implementation.

Ministry of Women and Child Development is the nodal ministry under this scheme.

Q.H1N1 virus is sometimes mentioned in the news with reference to which one of the following diseases? (UPSC CSAT 2015)

• AIDS




• Bird flu




• Dengue




• swine flu

Ans . D

1. Influenza A (H1N1) virus is the most common cause of human influenza (flu).

2. the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the new strain of swine-origin H1N1 as a pandemic.

Q.With reference to bio-toilets used by the Indian Railways, consider the following statements:
1. The decomposition of human waste in the bio-toilets is initiated by a fungal inoculum.
2. Ammonia and water vapour are the only end products in this decomposition which are released into the atmosphere.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (UPSC CSAT 2015)

• 1 only




• 2 only




• Both 1 and 2




• Neither 1 nor 2

Ans . D

1. Under the bio-toilet concept of the DRDO, the bio-digester tank in every toilet is filled with inoculums containing four types of bacteria.

2. The water trap system in the toilet prevents air from getting into the tank, the human waste is processed by anaerobic bacteria in seven chambers in the tank and the methane gas is allowed to escape into the air.

Q.Among the following which were frequently mentioned in the news for the outbreak of Ebola virus recently? (UPSC CSAT 2015)

• Syria and Jordan




• Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia




• Philippines and Papua New Guinea




• Jamaica, Haiti and Surinam

Ans . B