Karnataka forms stillbirth surveillance panel amid rising cases
Bengaluru: In response to a concerning rise in stillbirth rates across the state, the Karnataka Department of Health and Family Welfare has established a Stillbirth Surveillance and Response (SBSR) committee to monitor and address the issue.
According to department data from August, as cited by Deccan Herald on Saturday, the stillbirth rate in Karnataka stood at 3.41% per 1,000 births, a figure that has surged dramatically in some districts, reaching as high as 9.8%.
This alarming spike has raised serious concerns among health authorities, particularly in districts like Haveri, Dharwad, Chamarajanagar, and Mysuru, which have reported the highest numbers. Even districts with historically low or zero stillbirth rates have seen sharp increases.
The newly-formed SBSR committee will track the number of stillbirths and causes, adhering to the International Classification of Diseases for Perinatal Mortality guidelines (ICD-PM). The panel will examine preventable deaths and use data to inspect districts with the highest cases.
It will also identify treatment gaps and recommend solutions to the health department, the report added.
Under the new system, hospital nodal officers are required to report stillbirths within 24 hours to district and state health officials.
Failing to register deaths will result in serious charges against hospital officials, while government officials will face internal investigations for failing to register cases.
Private hospitals that do not register stillbirths will face action under the Karnataka Private Medical Establishment Act, 2007.
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PM Modi, myself don't have 'wife issue': Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi (PTI): In a friendly banter, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and he didn’t have "the wife issue", as the Congress MP emphasised that everyone has learnt from women in their lives.
Participating in a debate in the Lok Sabha on the three bills introduced for amendments to the women's quota law and setting up a delimitation commission, Gandhi said women are a driving force in the national imagination and national perspective.
"All of us in this room have been influenced, taught, and have learnt a lot from women in our lives – from mothers, sisters, wives," Gandhi said.
"Of course, the prime minister and myself don't have the wife issue, so we don't get that input, but we have our mothers and sisters," he said while referring to Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju's light-hearted remark that he got a scolding at home as he did not pen a poem for his wife like Union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal did.
Gandhi also lauded his sister and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi's speech in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.
"Yesterday, I was watching my sister achieve in five minutes what I have not been able to do in 20 years of my political career – make Amit Shah Ji smile," Gandhi said to peals of laughter.
