Geographic Inequities in Coverage of Maternal and Child health Services in Haryana State of India

Abstract

Introduction India aims to achieve universal health coverage, with a focus on equitable delivery of services. There is significant evidence on extent of inequities by income status, gender and caste. In this paper, we report geographic inequities in coverage of reproductive, maternal and child health (MCH) services in Haryana state of India. Methods Cross-sectional data on utilization of maternal, child health and family planning services were collected from 12,191 women who had delivered a child in the last one year, 10314 women with 12–23 months old child, and 45864 eligible couples across all districts in Haryana state. Service coverage was assessed based on eight indicators − 6 for maternal health, one for child health and one for family planning. Inter- and intra-district inequalities were compared based on four and three indicators respectively. Results Difference in coverage of full ante-natal care, full immunization and contraceptive prevalence rate between districts performing best and worst was found to be 54%, 65% and 63% respectively. More than one-thirds of the sub-centres (SCs) in Panchkula, Ambala, Gurgaon and Mewat districts had their ante-natal care coverage less than 50% of the respective district average. Similarly, a significant proportion of SCs in Mewat, Panipat and Hisar districts had full immunization rate below 50% of the district average. Conclusion Widespread inter- and intra-district inequities in utilization of MCH services exist. A comprehensive geographical targeting to identify poor performing districts, community development blocks and SCs could result in significant equity gains, besides contributing to quick achievement of sustainable development goals.

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