ACCESSIBILITY AND UTILISATION OF MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH SERVICES AMONG RURAL BPL HOUSEHOLDS A COMPARATIVE STUDY IN TRIBAL AND NON TRIBAL REGIONS of ODISHA

Abstract

Prosperity of a country and health of its citizens are robustly connected. Good health increases the productivity of the citizens and contributes to the economic growth of the country. It is unquestionable that healthy human resources constitute the quantity and quality of production. If these human resources do not possess basic standard of health, then the production of the nation will be meager and the economy of the country will be adversely affected. A democratic government is bound by its moral obligation to provide basic health care facilities to its citizens through a systematic health service delivery system. Health being central to one s life is accorded the status of a fundamental right. To improve the health condition of its human resources almost all countries have devised strategies to make their health delivery system more responsive to the people in times of their dire needs. Emphasis has been given on strengthening the health service delivery system to cater to the health care needs of the mother and child. Maternal and child health (MCH) services are a part of overall health care services which are intended to meet the health care demand of mothers and children. MCH services work towards, among others, improving the survival rates of mothers and children. newlineProvision of MCH services and its utilization by the masses are two aspects of a service delivery system. Accessibility and utilization of MCH services by the unprivileged sections of the society has become one of the major concerns. The quality of care can only be measurable depending upon the rate of utilization by the needy. National Health Policy (NHP) 2015 of the Government of India in its draft version has stated about the low quality of care. NHP 2015 cites that over 90 per cent of pregnant women received one antenatal check-up and 87 per cent received full TT immunization, only about 68.7 per cent of women have received the mandatory three antenatal check-ups. Similarly, it expresses concern about pursuing institutional newline