Health Ministry develops strategic framework for maternal and newborn healthcare

Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda released the 'SUMAN Roadmap 2030' during the 16th Conference of the Central Council of Health and Family Welfare (CCHFW), in New Delhi.

The roadmap is a comprehensive, multi-pronged strategic framework designed to strengthen maternal and newborn healthcare and accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of reducing maternal and newborn mortality by 2030.

In view of the need for renewed and targeted action to address the remaining challenges in maternal and newborn health, the SUMAN (Surakshit Matritva Assurance Scheme) Roadmap 2030 has been developed. Although India has made substantial improvements in maternal health in the last decade, persistent gaps continue to hinder further reduction in maternal and neonatal mortality, especially in states where these challenges need special attention. The roadmap goes beyond a uniform approach and provides customised, specific, and evidence-based interventions tailored to the needs of states and districts.

This roadmap takes a lifecycle approach and integrates interventions across all stages of care, including prenatal care, antenatal care, perinatal care, and postpartum care. It promotes coordination with nutrition and child health, adolescent health, family planning under the RMNACHA+N framework to ensure integrated service delivery.

A key feature of this roadmap is a structured four-step framework for identifying, monitoring and managing high-risk pregnancies during pregnancy, especially high-risk pregnancies in the third trimester, high-risk pregnancies during childbirth, and postpartum high-risk mothers. The framework also includes relevant interventions based on ground level experiences, including transportation challenges, access to tribal and hard-to-reach areas, quality emergency obstetric care, public participation through Suman Panchayats, and emerging challenges such as climate change.

The roadmap lays out targeted and time-bound strategies in 130 districts across 13 high-focus states, including Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal, as well as strategies for all States and UTs to sustain progress and achieve saturation in maternal and newborn health services.