KCR Kits to touch one lakh mark: Health Minister Laxma Reddy

The number of ‘KCR Kits’ being distributed would soon touch the one lakh mark since the programme is a great success, Minister for Health and Family Welfare C Laxma Reddy said here on Tuesday.

Initiating the short discussion on ‘KCR Kits’ in the Council, the Minister said the government had so far spent Rs 92 crore on the programme with the objective of increasing public institutional deliveries and minimize indiscriminate C-sections in the State.

Reddy explained how institutional deliveries had gone up after the programme. “Within five months, the department distributed 95,000 kits to new mothers and babies. The kit includes set of good quality items for baby care,” the Minister said, adding that other benefits of the KCR Kits included monitoring



the health condition of pregnant women, birth planning, standardisation of labour rooms in government hospitals, tracking of high-risk pregnancies, referral transport, including drop back and free drugs and diagnostics.

The Minister announced that after the launch of the scheme, some 98,000 deliveries were carried out only in government hospitals, which speaks volumes about the capabilities and strengths of government hospitals in the State. “It is not merely the attraction of the kit. The government has improved conditions in government maternity hospitals and instilled confidence among pregnant women,” Reddy said, adding that the government was also providing financial assistance under the programme besides supplying KCR Kits which consists of 15 items.