Legislation to enact rights of pregnant women sought

Legislation to enact rights of pregnant women sought
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

NEW DELHI, APRIL 29: A comprehensive legislation should be enacted to protect the rights of a woman during pregnancy and the child's right to nutrition and a healthy environment, a two-day workshop on Health and Human Rights, has recomended.

The workshop organised by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in collaboration with the Department of Women and Child Development and the UNICEF also recomended that the right to health should be made a fundamental right.

The proposed legilsation should specify minimum standards of health and the responsibility of the State to ensure access to services and facilities. It also suggested that the Government should recognise the grave nature of the problem of anaemia and its consequences not only on maternal and child health but also on national productivity.

It was pointed out at the conference that the current anaemia control programmes of the Government had not brought about any significant impact. Long term action plans were therefore, recommended to change prevalent practices of the society.