Anxieties related to a missed period, dependence on a mother-in-law or husband to visit a primary health centre to confirm pregnancy and lack of ignorance around conception could now be a thing of the past for women in India’s rural hinterland.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare through the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) has successfully completed an 18-month pilot project through two phases across 28 states and 7 Union Territories in India, making rural women familiar with a self administered pregnancy test kit that is easy to use, is free of cost and is introduced to them through the familiar Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) or ANM. This programme was implemented by Hindustan Latex Family Planning Promotion Trust (HLFPPT) – A trust promoted by HLL Life Care Ltd. (a Govt. of India undertaking)
To evaluate the effectiveness of the initiative and how it can be scaled up in a more detailed manner, Mr J P Singh, the Principal Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, said at the sharing workshop on Nishcahy Programme at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi today, that this was a path-breaking step that could bring down the rate of Infant Mortality, Maternal Mortality and Neo Natal Mortality drastically, He said that the government would support it fully by, “taking it all over the country and by strengthening training of not just the health officers but also the Accredited Social Health Workers who under NRHM are the link between the health department and the community.”
Vasanthi Krishnan, CEO, HLFPPT, said that what makes the Nishchay Pregnancy Test Card relevant is, “most women come to the primary health centre in their second trimester, which places them and their unborn child at grave risk. Also it is often late for them to deal with an unwanted pregnancy. The Nishchay PTC helps women access medical care in the first trimester itself.” The success of the project in its pilot phase has seen the number of early registrations that have shot up in most states, with women doing the test themselves and registering at the Primary or Community Health Care Centre.
The Nishchay Home Based Pregnancy Test card (PTC), a user friendly tool that allows women to detect their pregnancy status themselves, within a month of their last menstrual cycle also serves as an entry point to Reproductive Child Health and family planning services for rural women.
Manufactured by HLL Lifecare Ltd. with support from the Ministry of Health and Family welfare, the PTC was launched in all states and Union territories of India in the year 2008. The testing kits were particularly beneficial to women in rural areas, who otherwise had to travel great distance to confirm their pregnancy status. Also, it helped them confirm their pregnancy status the moment they missed their period since with the PTC, the testing was in their hands. Otherwise, they usually had to wait for 3-4 months either because of sheer ignorance or dependence on other family members to take them to the nearest health facility.
While the first phase that started in 2008 focused on training the ASHAs who could then interact with the community in an informed and engaging manner, in the second phase HLFPPT’s trainers trained government medical doctors in a manner that the programme could be adopted and integrated by the respective state health department into the other ongoing health programmes. This way, the project would become a part of the system and would be sustainable.
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While the feedback from the community was overwhelming with women and ASHAs expressing interest, enthusiasm and positive feedback post using the kits, there have been challenges which the field team faced especially regarding stocking supplies and distribution. According to Dr. S. Bhattacharjee, Director of Health Services, “all women should know about this product since it is so easy to use, it is free of cost, being provided by the Government of India and it gives results immediately. I am glad that HLFPPT has produced some TV spots, radio jingles and a lot of communication material that can prove handy in disseminating this information.”
HLFPPT’s extensive monitoring and feedback mechanisms through meetings with Chief Medical Officers (CMO) is helping set up processes and guidelines that can direct and advise users and health workers at all times. Once the two phases concluded, each state had a monitoring team visit them, that was followed by a CMO meet where issues related to usage, building stockpiles and future course of action were discussed.