Waghmare vs. The District Collector, Nagpur District : The Women’s Right to Health

Post Date: Monday, May 30, 2016

In Nagpur’s Government run institutions, women are subject to subhuman conditions in maternal health care. As a result, many women die senselessly from preventable causes. The petitioner in Waghmare vs. The District Collector, Nagpur District demands the proper implementation of government schemes to improve the appalling state of maternal health care in Nagpur.    

In June 2015, data from the Global Network for Women’s and Children’s Health Research Maternal and Neonatal Health Registry (MNHR) revealed that Nagpur’s Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) is 114.8 deaths per 100,000 births. This figure sits well above the Government-reported MMR for Maharashtra of 68. Whilst the government-reported MMR remains unverified, the figure is still higher than Maharashtra’s Millennium Development Goal of 58.62. The inadequate provision of health care for the urban rural and poor is responsible for relatively high rates of maternal mortality in Nagpur.

This public interest litigation prays to improve the quality of health care and shocking state of medical facilities in Government run institutions. The petitioner seeks to realise women’s fundamental Constitutional and human rights to life, equality and health in Nagpur.

Contact: Sarita Barpanda; sarita@hrln.org