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Hallad J S, PRC Dharwad
Bashir A. Bhat, University of Kashmir
Kalita D, PRC, Assam
Vini Sivanandan, Gokhale Institute of Politics & Economics
Dilip Kumar, Joint Director, Population Research Center, Department of Statistics, Patna University, Patna 800004, Bihar, Indiat
Manas Ranjan Pradhan, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)
The current global COVID-19 pandemic has raised many concerns over the availability and accessibility of basic health care services. The last one year has forced several countries including India to mobilize their financial and human resources toward this leading to a monopolization of the health systems. This approach has left researchers thinking if it may have led to neglect of already scarce basic and essential health services making it harder for those unrelated to the pandemic. This study assessed uptake of routine maternal and child health (MCH) care services in five states of India (Viz. Assam, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, and Maharashtra) during the pandemic. A total of 1357 live births, stillbirths, and abortions and 470 pregnant women were recorded between January 1, 2019, and February 2021 from 2516 women aged 15-49 years. The study found that both coverage and quality of most MCH services have declined after the outbreak of the pandemic, more profoundly on components requiring more in-person contact. The study further noted that the outreach services by the frontline workers were the least affected, especially those rendered by ASHA. Nonetheless, she too was constrained in providing services that were subject to availability of supply from the system.
Keywords: COVID-19, Demographic and social surveys
Presented in Session 12. COVID-19 and Consequences of Lockdowns on Health Outcomes