Rotary Clubs from across the globe are partnering with Rotary Club of Madras East to strengthen maternity and neonatal care in government hospitals and primary health centres in Vellore and Tiruvannamalai districts.
The project, budgeted at Rs. 1.5 crore, will provide equipment to the districts’ five major government hospitals — Thiruvannamalai Government Medical College and Hospital and government hospitals in Gudiyattam, Vaniyambadi, Ambur and Kaniyambadi.
Primary health centres too will be strengthened, said N. Sudhakar, president of Rotary Club of Madras East, while donating a blood donor bus to Rotary Central-TTK-VHS blood bank on Wednesday.
The project is aimed at reducing the infant mortality rate (IMR) as well as the maternal mortality rate (MMR) in the two districts. Following a study by Rotary, these two districts were identified as needing equipment and training.
The hospitals will be provided with ventilators, photo-thermal units, oxygen generators and cardiac monitors. The project will be implemented as collaboration between Rotary Club Madras East, Rotary International India and Rotary International Germany, he said. Rotary will also help provide training to nurses and strengthen immunisation and help improve nutrition in the area, said A.P. Khanna, district governor of the Rotary International District.
The blood donor bus, donated on Wednesday, has the ability to collect and store blood from donors in remote areas too. A total of four patients can give blood on the bus simultaneously, and up to 100 units of blood can be stored.
Currently, the VHS blood bank receives around 25,000 units of blood per year, but with the new bus, they hope to increase this number to 40,000 units, said J. Balasubramaniam, director of the blood bank.
