Against All Odds

Improved hospital infrastructure, attractive incentives to doctors and paramedics are propelling the health parameters in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district

- Prathiba Raju

Among the thick forests and rough terrains in the interior districts of Chhattisgarh, thousands of tribals and locals lead a complicated life due to the internal strife of Naxalites. They are deprived of basic healthcare facilities due to shortage of doctors, staff nurses, proper hospital infrastructure. Things are changing for better and people residing in those areas now have access to better healthcare amenities. The public healthcare facilities in these Naxal stronghold areas like Bijapur, Dantewada and Sukma are showing signs of improvement.

Till a year ago, pregnancy meant complication for tribal women of the interior districts of Chhattisgarh, as many pregnant women were carried in dhola (a palanquin) to the nearby District Hospitals (DH). Many a times, the deliveries took place in the village itself, as the local population faced sudden bandhs, roads blocked by tree trunks and trenches dug to prevent people’s movement. With well equipped DH and a decent hospital infrastructure, sufficient number of doctors, specialists like gynaecologists, paediatrician, nurses — available round the clock and follow-ups by them in Community Health Centres (CHC), Primary Health Centres (PHC), many tribal women from various districts of Chhattisgarh are opting for institutional deliveries.

Among them, Bijapur district, one of the top five naxal affected, home to 2.5 lakhs, got its first gynaecologist in July 2016. The DH has registered total delivery of 766 from January to September 2017. By the year end, it set to cross the 1,000 mark. Meanwhile, Sukma, home to 2.6 lakh people, mostly tribal families, got its first gynaecologist recently from Telangana.