Kathmandu, March 28:

The government has decided to provide maternity allowance of Rs 5,000 to all female government employees during the birth of their first two babies.

This announcement was made today at the 10th National Conference of Nepal Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologist (NESOG) by Dr Bishnu Prasad Pandit, secretary, Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) today. The allowance is meant for proper care of newborns, he said, adding, that the decision was recently made and has already been set out for implementation.

The allowance would be an addition to the travel allowance the government has been providing to all mothers during delivery: Rs 500 in Tarai, Rs 1,000 in hills and Rs 1,500 in mountains. The government took this initiative to decrease the maternal and infant mortality rate due to the lack of proper health care facilities, Pandit said.

National Demographic Heath Survey has shown that 281 mothers out of 100,000 are dying every year along with the death of 33 newborns in 1,000 births. As per the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) the county has to decrease the maternal mortality rate to 134 and neonatal (within a month of delivery) death rate to 15 by 2015. “We have achieved significantly in maternity and child health in the last ten years, but yet we have a lot more to do,” Pandit said, adding: “There are lots of challenges including patriarchal family construct, poverty, illiteracy and inaccessibility health care services that are to be tackled.”

Prof Dr Pramila Pradhan, president of the NESOG said there is a great discrepancy in maternal and infant mortality rate between rich and poor. Poverty has been a major hindrance towards accessing proper health care facilities that have to be bridged to decrease the death rate of mother and child. “We are likely to achieve the goal set by the MDG, but the crucial step to be taken is increasing the skills of skill birth attendants,” she said. She also said that the government has to ensure maternal health in its priority list and proper mobilisation of the resources in national plan. “No woman should die while giving birth,” she added.

The two-day national conference organised to advocate on improving maternal and neonatal health in low resource setting would conclude tomorrow.