Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel has said that the government is working to reduce the maternal mortality rate in the country. She said steps taken for population stabilization are yielding results and the country will be able to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals to reduce MMR less than 70 per one lakh live births before year 2030. She said, life of every woman is important and concerted efforts should be made to reduce the maternal mortality rate.

The Minister chaired a meeting on family planning with experts in New Delhi on Friday. Speaking on this occasion, she said, the government has started several schemes like Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan and Anemia Mukt Bharat Abhiyan which helped in reducing MMR from 130 per one lakh live births in 2014 to 70 now.

Highlighting the importance of family planning, Minister Anupriya Patel said, healthy timing and spacing of pregnancy are important to achieve health outcomes for women and children. She underscored that family planning is not the responsibility of women only, but it is also the responsibility of men and their participation must be increased in the drive. The Minister said, family planning initiatives are not only aimed at achieving population stabilization targets but it has become a tool to improve the health of women and children. Underlining Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047, she said, women empowerment is essential to achieve the goal. She said, population stabilization initiatives which started many decades back have now moved ahead and become an agent of women empowerment.