41% of childbirth in Maharashtra at private facilities, says report

Mumbai: The latest Sample Registration Survey (SRS) bulletin has stated that more than 97% of babies in Maharashtra were born in a health facility in 2020. But, up to 41% of the deliveries were in private facilities, even in rural areas, underlining the state's continued inability to provide healthcare to a broader population.

As per the SRS 2020 data released last week, nearly 56% of deliveries occurred at government health centres, while 41.4% were in private facilities. Despite the government's claims to improve mother and child care services, this ratio has remained unchanged over the past several years. It is also higher than the all-India average, where 28% of deliveries occur in private centres, 55% at government centres and nearly 12% outside institutions but at the hands of qualified health personnel.

The numbers also bear the private sector's steadily growing penetration in the state's rural areas. In 2020, almost 40.5% of the deliveries in rural Maharashtra had taken place in a private hospital, nearly as many in the urban areas (42.6%). In 2017, 40.3% of rural deliveries were private, which increased marginally to 40.4% in 2018 and 40.5% in 2019. Maharashtra clocks more than 2 million deliveries annually, so even a small percentage change could mean thousands of families turning towards the private sector.

The SRS findings have drawn mixed reactions from experts. A state government official said it puts Maharashtra within reach of achieving 100% institutional births. In 2011, the share of institutional delivery was 90.7%, so there certainly has been an improvement. There is another positive aspect. The percentage of deliveries at the hands of untrained people has dropped to 0.4% in Maharashtra, from 5.1% a decade ago.

Yet, the lack of demand for public health in rural areas reflects the state's failure to cater to the deprived sections, said Dr Abhay Shukla of Jan Swasthya Abhiyan. He said that around 70-80% of the state's population is food insecure, falls below the poverty line, or is just on the border.

"Often one towering health expense can push them to impoverishment," he said, adding that at least 20-25% more population should be accessing the public health services.