Women and children are the most vulnerable sections in displaced population as statistics show that almost four per cent of disaster-affected women are pregnant at any given point, a government official said today.
Flagging these "alarming" statistics, Rakesh Kumar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, stressed on the need to further strengthen health infrastructure in rural and remote areas of the country.
"In the aftermath of any disaster or natural and man-made crises, women and young children are the one who are most vulnerable and drastically affected especially the ones belonging to the weaker sections.
"In any displaced population and at any given point, almost 4 per cent of the population is pregnant, of which 15 per cent women experience obstetric complications, risking their lives," he said.
"We have in the past worked and coordinated with the National Disaster Management Authority and several state governments. We feel we can do much more to be able to make a difference in the lives of those affected by the natural disasters," he said at a seminar organised jointly by the NDMA and the United Nations Population Fund.
After launching the manual for the "Minimum Initial Service Package for Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) in Disasters", NDMA Vice-Chairman M Shashidhar Reddy said India's unique geo-climatic conditions make it vulnerable to a host of disasters.
"Each disaster in its trail leaves behind suffering, especially for women and children, some of which can be alleviated to an extent by relief and rehabilitation measures. But they leave behind indelible scars in terms of the loss of precious lives," he said.
"I am confident that the Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) manual for sexual and reproductive health in disasters will be of enormous value to the various stakeholder groups involved in the provision of services for reproductive health," he said.
Other speakers at the event were UNFPA representative Frederika Meijer, Bihar Principal Secretary (Health) Vyas Ji and NDMA member Muzaffar Ahmad.
