M F AHMAD
Daltonganj, May 8: An Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) for diabetics was re-started in three of the 10 peripheral health centres in Palamu. This OGTT is exclusively for pregnant women. The health centres where OGTT has been resumed include Lesliganj, Hariharganj, and Hussainabad.
Notably, the OGTT was shut for lack of funds for the whole of 2021 in Palamu. The funds are usually provided by the national rural health mission. As a result, glucose could not be purchased and the OGTT remained a non-starter.
“The Panki community health centre is set to launch the OGTT on Monday,” said Dr Zubair Ahmad, the medical officer-in-charge at the centre. The doctor further added that his health centre has sent a requisition for 200 pouches of glucose. Notably, the diabetes test does not require any sophisticated tool other than a glucometer.
Meanwhile, according to sources, six other government peripheral health centres also known as community health centres in Palamu are yet to start the OGTT. Dr Anil Kumar said that at a review meeting with the medical officers in charge, he was informed of the resumption of the OGTT in three peripheral health centres including Lesliganj, Harihurganj and Hussainabad, which also has a sub-divisional hospital.
The civil surgeon conceded that the supplementary fund for the OGTT reached Palamu only this February. He further assured us to make sure that it was available in all 10 community health centres without any more delay.
According to Dr R K Ranjan, a senior physician, OGTT is extremely important in the health management of pregnant women. Dr Ranjan further said that there is a high risk of gestational diabetes in pregnant women, and this OGTT aids in the fight for better and more effective health management for pregnancy and infant birth. He said that pregnancy between 24 weeks and 28 weeks is highly vulnerable in terms of gestational diabetes.
Meanwhile, apart from the OGTT, Palamu is also bogged down with anemia cases. The national family health survey 5 has found 67.5 percent of anaemic cases in children in the age group of 6 months to 59 months in Jharkhand.
Civil surgeon Palamu Dr Anil Kumar in this regard admitted that anaemia is a global health concern and it is time now to declare war against anaemia among girls and women. “We need to have a broad consciousness among the populace about the ill effects of anaemia. Girls and women in the age group of 15 to 59 are too prone to anemia,” Dr Kumar added.
Dr Kumar further said the fight against anaemia is also a fight against MDR, which is the maternal death rate, which is still looking upwards.
As per data, Jharkhand has seen a drop in the infant mortality rate, but it is not a matter of relief yet as any laxity can see the rate going up. When asked why Palamu did not have Mission Indradhanush this time for its dropout and left out kids in terms of routine immunization, civil surgeon Dr Kumar said that the administration did an 86.05 percent of the routine immunisation which is why the district was not included with Mission Indradhanush this instance.
He said he has asked his community health officers to prepare a ‘due list’ of the kids so that when the time comes for routine immunisation, these kids pop up at the session of the vaccination.
