PACS consultation on JSY
24 February 2011
The Poorest Areas Civil Society (PACS) Programme kick started its multi-stakeholder consultation (MSC) on Janani Suraksha Yojna (JSY) on Thursday 24 February 2011. The consultation took place in Kolkata, West Bengal, and is part of the PACS Consultation Series.
The MSC will be followed in seven functional states. The programme was held at the Science City, Kolkata, in the presence of government dignitaries and civil society organisations.More than 65 representatives from civil society, communities, government and academia particpated in this event.
In his inaugural address, Dr. Surjya Kanta Mishra the Hon. Minister of Health and Family Welfare, GoWB, said:
'Schemes like JSY can be effectively delivered only by organising and empowering excluded groups to understand health as a matter of right. Civil society has an important role to play therein and programme like PACS would help civil societies to reach and respond to the communities better.Education is the one point programme to help health of the people.'
He wrapped up his speech by stressing the need to ensure community participation - he felt that health is safe in the hands of the community, as they assist in monitoring as well as generating demand
Sk. S.N. Haque, IAS Principal Secretary, Backward Classes Welfare Department & Principal Secretary, Self-Help Group and Self-Employment Department, GOWB, added
'The state has great scope to involve women from excluded communities in the JSY program. The PACS program thus will play an important role in increasing access to JSY through different strategies.'
What the JSY does:
The JSY scheme, under the umbrella of National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), focuses on the well-being of pregnant woman and integrates cash assistance with antenatal care during pregnancy; institutional care during delivery; and immediate post-partum care in health centres. The JSY aims to increase institutional deliveries for pregnant mothers living below the poverty line, as well as reduce maternal mortality and infant mortality rates in both rural and urban areas.
Panel sessions
The inaugural session was followed by two panel discussions. The first panel discussion helped build perspectives of implementing the JSY scheme both by government and the civil society and academician. The panel was chaired by Dr. Manab Sen, Senior Member of Board of Governance, Society for SHG & Self Employment, GoWB. A perspective from the district administration was provided by Dr. S. Siraj, Chief Medical Officer Health, Murshidabad. The social targeting and quality aspects of JSY services was provided by Dr. Manasee Mishra, Head, Research and Training, IIHMR Kolkata.
During the second panel discussion, Dr. Dilip Ghosh, IAS, Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Commissioner Family Welfare and State Mission Director, NRHM, said:
'The state level consultative meet organised by PACS helps us to understand different perspectives on JSY, provides valuable insights and feedback on systemic changes and suggests actions for further improvement.'
More about PACS
PACS is an initiative of the UK Government's Department for International Development (DFID), to work with civil society in India, to help socially excluded groups claim their rights and entitlements more effectively. The programme is managed by the IFIRST Consortium on behalf of DFID. In West Bengal, PACS works in 7 districts of Purulia, Birbhum, Murshidabad, Malda, Uttar Dinajpur, Dakshin Dinajpur and Jalpaiguri.
Consultation aims
The consultation is designed to create a platform for dialogue aimed at making the implementation of JSY more effective. By sharing perspectives, opinions and expectations from both the supply side (Government as the service provider) and the demand side (CSOs representing community voices) to create the processes and perspectives for an advocacy agenda on JSY in West Bengal.
Journalists that have a media enquiry can contact PACS national office by telephone at +91 11 24372660/24372699 or via email: query@pacsindia.org.
