Guwahati: Assam is stepping into 2023 keeping its fingers crossed over rising concerns on another surge in Covid cases. The year 2022 witnessed life limping back to normalcy after two years of the pandemic.
While chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma will take the final call on measures to tackle the situation if another Covid wave sweeps the state, health minister Keshab Mahanta said the state's healthcare infrastructure is fully equipped to deal with any emergency.
“In the first week of January, the chief minister will decide on the steps to be taken in case another wave hits the state. Oxygen supply, ICU facilities and availability of doctors in each district has been ensured. A hundred-bed ICU is ready in Guwahati to handle any Covid resurgence,” said Mahanta.
With a noticeable progress in reducing the MMR and IMR in 2022 and bigger plans of opening three medical colleges, Assam has been planning to take big strides in healthcare in 2023. But the fate of the new plan hangs in balance now after the emergence of BF.7, a variant of Covid-19, which is believed to spread very fast. Nevertheless, the state health department said it has successfully conducted mock drills to gauge the preparedness and exuded confidence in handling any possible Covid outbreak.
“Around 8,000 oxygen beds and 1,200 ICUs are being readied in Assam to tackle any eventuality,” said Assam NHM executive director, Manoj Choudhury.
On the eve of the New Year, the Assam National Health Mission conducted Swasthya Mantan – to review all districts on the Indian Public Health Standards with a major focus on the reduction of maternal and infant mortality in the state in 2023.
Even as Assam recorded a marginal improvement in Maternal Mortality Ratio, the state continued to be the worst performer in the country as per the Registrar General of India’s (RGI) latest 'Special Bulletin on Maternal Mortality’ for the period 2018 to 2020 released in November.
But significantly, the number of maternal death cases in 2022-23 (May–November) was reported to be 343 against 526 deaths in 2021-22 (May–November), showing a decline of 183 deaths (35%), read a statement by Assam NHM. The number of child death cases in 2022-23 (May–November) also declined to 4,266 against 4,888 deaths in 2021-22 (May–November), a decline of 622 deaths (13%).
The innovative Swasthya Sewa Abhiyan portal, developed with the technical support of UNDP for better monitoring and follow up of cases identified in the Swasthya Sewa Abhiyan (Special Health Camps) is expected to bring healthcare closer to people in the districts.
After the successful implementation of the pilot phase, the Swasthya Sewa Abhiyan, launched by Mahanta on September 23, has become a monthly affair.