Kendujhar: A total of 3,199 children died in Kendujhar district between 2021 22 and 2025-26, highlighting persistent concerns over maternal and child health despite government welfare schemes and substantial public spending on healthcare.
Official data also showed that 131 pregnant women died during the same five-year period. The alarming figures have renewed calls from social activists and public health experts for stronger intervention to improve healthcare services in the mineral-rich district.
The government has implemented several programmes to reduce maternal and infant mortality, while funds from the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) have also been spent on health infrastructure through government and private agencies. Kendujhar has 16 maternity waiting homes (Maa Gruha), Special Newborn Care Units (SNCUs) of 24-beds at the Kendujhar District Headquarters Hospital (DHH), 12 beds at Champua Sub-Divisional Hospital (SDH) and Ghatagaon Community Health Centre (CHC), six Nutrition Rehabilitation Centres at the DHH, Champua and Anandapur SDHs and in Banspal, Badabil and Harichandanpur CHCs.
Similarly, four First Referral Units (FRU) have also been established in the district. However, activists said the existing facilities have failed to significantly reduce child deaths, particularly in remote tribal areas where many maternal and neonatal deaths allegedly go unreported because they occur outside health institutions. Child rights activist Bhakta Batsala Mohanty said official records capture only hospital deaths, suggesting the actual toll could be higher if a comprehensive survey were conducted.
Retired chief district medical officer (CDMO) Dr Udayanath Barik attributed the high mortality rate to malnutrition, teenage pregnancies, delayed access to hospitals, inadequate healthcare in remote areas, poor monitoring, unhygienic living conditions and inadequate postnatal care. CDMO Dr Dhaneswar Sethi said multiple factors contribute to maternal and infant deaths but noted that mortality has declined since April this year. He said the district administration is conducting regular reviews and taking corrective measures to further reduce the mortality rate.
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