Latest news with #CEmONC
The Hindu
19-06-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Tamil Nadu's pregnancy registration system exposes Aadhaar tampering to hide child marriages in Krishnagiri
Six teenage mothers using tampered Aadhaar cards to show a higher age were discovered, thanks to the State government's Pregnancy and Infant Cohort Monitoring and Evaluation (PICME) system in Denkanikottai. On Wednesday, a 17-year-old girl was intercepted by Collector C. Dinesh Kumar at the Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (CEmONC) centre at the government hospital. He felt she looked younger, though she insisted she was 18. 'She didn't look 18. When I checked her ID, I noticed that she was 17 in March, when she got married, and was now two-months pregnant. An entry was made and a case under the Child Marriage Act and the POCSO Act will be registered,' he said. The Collector's visit followed the detection of six persons as underage mothers though their Aadhaar cards showed a different date of birth. The PICME portal registers and tracks pregnancies to prevent infant and maternal deaths, and to bring all births into the institutional delivery system. PICME registration is mandatory to get a birth certificate. According to Deputy Director of Health Services G. Ramesh Kumar, there had been six cases of underage mothers from Kelamangalam block. Two of them were carrying Aadhaar cards with dates of birth that did not match the ones shown on their Aadhaar ID on the UIDAI portal. Recently, a 29-year-old man produced a tampered Aadhaar card for his wife, showing her age as 19, while the seeded Aadhaar identification mentioned her age as 14. Three Internet centres had abetted the forgery. New system The Health Department had since alerted the Tahsildar and the Collector. 'Tampering was possible in the earlier system, where the PICME portal was manually fed using the ID produced by the mother. But on PICME 3.0, which is linked to the UIDAI portal, tampering is impossible,' Dr. Ramesh said. Once the Aadhaar number is keyed in, it will reveal all the details. 'An OTP is sent to the phone number seeded to the Aadhaar number, without which we cannot proceed into the PICME portal,' said Sacharita, Block Medical Officer, Thally. 'I have apprised the UIDAI too about this, and complaints have been lodged against those Internet/photocopy centres and the Aadhaar cardholders, spouses and their families. We are registering cases invoking both the Child Marriage Act and the POCSO Act,' the officer added. Last month, a man and his wife ended their lives after a case was registered against them for child marriage. Their 17-year-old daughter was married off to her maternal uncle, became pregnant, and underwent an abortion. 'She had attempted suicide, and the private hospital where she was admitted alerted us. The girl was from a community we focus on in Bargur, because it has the highest incidence of teen marriages. Cases were registered against both families. That is how stringent we are in dealing with child marriages,' the Collector said. Typically, any teenage pregnancy that comes into the hospital system for the mandatory PICME registration is routed through an AR entry at the hospital, where the police is intimated and a case is registered. The Health Department has been quietly intimating the police, and POCSO cases are being registered, Dr. Ramesh Kumar said. 'We've had experience of girls running off to Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh once the police get involved and then, tracking the pregnancies becomes difficult. It could also result in maternal mortality. So, we requested the police to wait till the mothers give birth to take action against their husbands and families,' he added. Between April 2024 and March 2025, a total of 545 cases of child marriage were registered, which included migrant women. This, according to Dr. Ramesh Kumar, is probably the lowest in western Tamil Nadu, according to PICME data. The highest number of child marriages are reported in Kaveripattinam, Bargur, Shoolagiri, and Kelamangalam in Krishnagiri district. (Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the State's health helpline 104, Tele-MANAS 14416, and Sneha's suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050)
The Hindu
18-06-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
State's pregnancy registration system exposes Aadhaar tampering to hide child marriages
Six teenage mothers using tampered Aadhaar cards to show a higher age were discovered, thanks to the State government's Pregnancy and Infant Cohort Monitoring and Evaluation (PICME) system in Denkanikottai. On Wednesday, a 17-year-old girl was intercepted by Collector C. Dinesh Kumar at the Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (CEmONC) centre at the government hospital. He felt she looked younger, though she insisted she was 18. 'She didn't look 18. When I checked her ID, I noticed that she was 17 in March, when she got married, and was now two-months pregnant. An entry was made and a case under the Child Marriage Act and the POCSO Act will be registered,' he said. The Collector's visit followed the detection of six persons as underage mothers though their Aadhaar cards showed a different date of birth. The PICME portal registers and tracks pregnancies to prevent infant and maternal deaths, and to bring all births into the institutional delivery system. PICME registration is mandatory to get a birth certificate. According to Deputy Director of Health Services G. Ramesh Kumar, there had been six cases of underage mothers from Kelamangalam block. Two of them were carrying Aadhaar cards with dates of birth that did not match the ones shown on their Aadhaar ID on the UIDAI portal. Recently, a 29-year-old man produced a tampered Aadhaar card for his wife, showing her age as 19, while the seeded Aadhaar identification mentioned her age as 14. Three Internet centres had abetted the forgery. New system The Health Department had since alerted the Tahsildar and the Collector. 'Tampering was possible in the earlier system, where the PICME portal was manually fed using the ID produced by the mother. But on PICME 3.0, which is linked to the UIDAI portal, tampering is impossible,' Dr. Ramesh said. Once the Aadhaar number is keyed in, it will reveal all the details. 'An OTP is sent to the phone number seeded to the Aadhaar number, without which we cannot proceed into the PICME portal,' said Sacharita, Block Medical Officer, Thally. 'I have apprised the UIDAI too about this, and complaints have been lodged against those Internet/photocopy centres and the Aadhaar cardholders, spouses and their families. We are registering cases invoking both the Child Marriage Act and the POCSO Act,' the officer added. Last month, a man and his wife ended their lives after a case was registered against them for child marriage. Their 17-year-old daughter was married off to her maternal uncle, became pregnant, and underwent an abortion. 'She had attempted suicide, and the private hospital where she was admitted alerted us. The girl was from a community we focus on in Bargur, because it has the highest incidence of teen marriages. Cases were registered against both families. That is how stringent we are in dealing with child marriages,' the Collector said. Typically, any teenage pregnancy that comes into the hospital system for the mandatory PICME registration is routed through an AR entry at the hospital, where the police is intimated and a case is registered. The Health Department has been quietly intimating the police, and POCSO cases are being registered, Dr. Ramesh Kumar said. 'We've had experience of girls running off to Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh once the police get involved and then, tracking the pregnancies becomes difficult. It could also result in maternal mortality. So, we requested the police to wait till the mothers give birth to take action against their husbands and families,' he added. Between April 2024 and March 2025, a total of 545 cases of child marriage were registered, which included migrant women. This, according to Dr. Ramesh Kumar, is probably the lowest in western Tamil Nadu, according to PICME data. The highest number of child marriages are reported in Kaveripattinam, Bargur, Shoolagiri, and Kelamangalam in Krishnagiri district. (Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the State's health helpline 104, Tele-MANAS 14416, and Sneha's suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050)
Mail & Guardian
08-06-2025
- Health
- Mail & Guardian
Tanzania leads the fight to end maternal deaths
Maternal health has been prioritised in the country's national development plans. Tanzania has made great progress in saving the lives of mothers. In just seven years, the country's maternal mortality rate has been This is not only a national achievement; it is a model for Africa, and a signal to the world that change is possible and long overdue. At the 78th World Health Assembly, which concluded earlier this week, health officials and world leaders When the Jiongeze Tuwavushe Salama Access to Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (CEmONC) has been expanded by increasing facilities from just 115 to over 566, ensuring that more than 90% of Tanzanians live within five kilometers of a health facility. The referral system has been significantly strengthened through technology-driven initiatives such as the m-mama emergency transportation programme and the Safer Births Bundle of Care (SBBC). In recent years, more than 20,000 new health professionals have been employed and health facilities have been equipped with ambulances and digital innovations, including artificial intelligence-supported maternal death reviews and real-time telemedicine solutions. These innovations, from WhatsApp triage groups to Project ECHO's virtual consultations, have already saved hundreds of women's lives. But the foundation of this success has not been technology alone, it has been political will. Maternal health has been prioritised in every national development plan. Work with Other African countries are taking note. Earlier this year, Tanzania hosted delegates from 16 nations under the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention to study the country's approach. Through the Collaborative Advocacy Action Plan Yet more must be done, and fast. Across sub-Saharan Africa, maternal deaths remain common. Many women still give birth too far from help, without skilled care and without access to basic medicines or transport. These are solvable problems. As we look toward 2030, I call on fellow leaders to prioritise women's health not as a statistic to improve, but as a moral imperative. Adopt national campaigns that place maternal mortality at the heart of health reform. Invest in infrastructure, workforce and digital solutions that work for people, not just institutions. Share knowledge. Measure outcomes. And above all, treat every maternal death as an unacceptable loss. Tanzania stands ready to support those ready to act. It can offer technical assistance and the insights gathered. Together, we can ensure that no woman dies while giving life in Africa and anywhere in the world. Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan is the President of Tanzania.
The Hindu
09-05-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
‘56% deliveries take place in govt. hospitals in T.N.'
: Health Minister Ma. Subramanian on Friday said 56% of deliveries in Tamil Nadu took place in government hospitals, and of this, 83% were in the Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (CEmONC) centres. At a workshop on Strategies on Reduction of MMR (Maternal Mortality Ratio), he said the State accounted for 99.9% institutional deliveries (8.02 lakh). According to the Health Information Management System, the State's MMR was 39 per 1,00,000 live births during 2024-2025. Every month, special measures are taken to identify pregnant women who have complications during gestation period. Once identified, they are advised or treated by obstetricians. All government medical college hospitals have high dependency units to treat pregnant women who develop complications during pregnancy or after delivery, he said. He handed over appreciation certificates to doctors who took measures to reduce maternal deaths. Arun Thamburaj, Mission Director, National Health Mission, Tamil Nadu, and E. Theranirajan, additional director of Medical Education and Research were present.
