Woman charged Rs 500 to get her umbilical cord cut at government health centre in Bihar

Woman charged Rs 500 to get her umbilical cord cut at government health centre in Bihar

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A woman was charged Rs 500 to get her umbilical cord cut at govt health centre in #Bihar. Know more. http://bit.ly/1JdlqQ9

State-run health centres in #Bihar charging pregnant women for medicines, injections, delivery. Know more. http://bit.ly/1JdlqQ9

“They were asking for money at the healthcare centre and I don’t have money. But they were asking my mother-in-law Rs. 500 just to cut the umbilical cord. We asked for a painkiller, but they did not give us.”

This was the ordeal of Munni Devi’s daughter-in-law, who went to a state-run health facility in Siwan District of Bihar for delivery after pregnancy.

And she is not alone. Women of the 150 Dalit families living in Rajapur Village, Bhagwanpur Block, Siwan district have faced the same situation in the health centre whenever they have gone there for delivery after pregnancy. 

The ground report by Video Volunteer (VV) community correspondent, Gyanti Kumari highlights the appalling healthcare facilities in government-run hospitals.

This series on community monitoring of maternal health is supported by Oxfam India.

 

One expecting mother dies every ten minutes in India. In 2014, 56,000 women died during childbirth in India.

Pregnant women living below poverty line in India are entitled to two government schemes -- Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) and Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram (JSSK). 

Under them they are entitled: 

  • Free and cashless delivery
  • Free drugs and consumables
  • Free diet during stay in the health institutions

According to locals, officials at the health centre tell them that if they don’t pay the amount they are asking, they will refer them elsewhere.

They also complained that the Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) charges them money for medicines, injections and ambulances etc.

 

Written by: Oxfam India staff

Video source: Video Volunteers

 


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