Karnataka records 24% drop in maternal deaths; GO issued to rationalise specialists

Karnataka has recorded a 24% reduction in maternal deaths this year — from January to October —compared to the corresponding period in 2024.

While 483 maternal deaths were reported in the first 10 months of 2024, the number has come down to 366 in 2025.

This follows strict monitoring and audit of every maternal death by a State-level committee that was set up in the aftermath of the Ballari maternal deaths in November last year, according to Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao.

Mission zero

He said to further improve the quality and safety of maternal and newborn care across health facilities, the Health Department had launched the “Mission Zero Preventable Maternal Deaths” initiative.

As part of this ongoing effort, the State had now issued a new Government Order (GO) to rationalise and optimally deploy key specialists —  obstetricians, anaesthetists, and paediatricians — across Karnataka.

The move aimed to ensure that every taluk hospital and well-performing community health centre (CHC) provided round the clock comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care (CEmONC) services, Mr. Gundu Rao said.

According to the GO, all 147 taluk hospitals and 42 well-performing CHCs (those conducting 30 or more deliveries a month) will be strengthened as CEmONC centres.

Each centre will have two specialists each in obstetrics, anaesthesia, and paediatrics, along with a radiologist and a physician. Remote areas such as M.M. Hills will continue as full CEmONC facilities, given their hard-to-reach terrain and distance from other referral centres.

Tamil Nadu model

Harsh Gupta, Principal Secretary, Health, said the rationalisation exercise was based on the Tamil Nadu model.

“The redeployment will be done through counselling. To achieve equitable distribution of specialists, those currently serving in low-performing CHCs will be redeployed to high-delivery-load facilities. The government will also mobilise 404 medical officers from the existing sanctioned posts. Nurses from underperforming 24/7 primary health centres (PHCs) will be reassigned to strengthen delivery points,” he said, adding that Tamil Nadu had been following this model for four years. 

New posts created

The Minister said 104 new radiologist posts and 23 physician posts had been created additionally. At the district level, 125 super-specialist posts — including cardiologists, neurologists, nephrologists, oncologists, pulmonologists, and critical care specialists — would be created under the Compulsory Medical Service Scheme to manage advanced maternal and newborn complications, he said.

He said the exercise will be implemented under Rule 15(1)(c) of the Karnataka Civil Services (Regulation of Transfer of Medical Officers and Other Staff) Rules, 2025. The initiative is designed to be budget-neutral, relying on redeployment and transfers from existing sanctioned posts, he added.

Pointing out that the model would follow a dynamic and performance-based approach, with quarterly reviews, the Minister said the CHCs that achieved higher delivery loads would be upgraded and made eligible for additional specialists.