Background The delivery of reproductive and child health services is of utmost importance and prime concern in India particularly populous states like Bihar with limited resources, poor infrastructure and huge demand on healthcare system. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic had presented a challenge even for developed healthcare systems around the world.
Objectives The main aim of this research is to find out Impact of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on the Reproductive and Child Health Programme of Bihar in India over the 3 months after Lockdown imposition countrywide in March 2020.
Settings & Design Different indicators group of RCH programme (immunisation, maternal & child health, family planning) for state of Bihar were collected and compared from previous year.
Materials & Methodology Secondary data from HMIS of Ministry of Health & Family Welfare Government of India for 2019 & 2020 were taken for analysing and understanding of impact of pandemic on RCH programme over 3 months after lockdown viz. April/May/June 2020. The data obtained is analysed by using Microsoft Office software.
Result The analysis of secondary data obtained from HMIS of Ministry of Health & Family Welfare website for RCH programme of the state of Bihar shows that the lockdown period & initial early phase of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic have a negative impact over the delivery of health services as well as the indicators are also affected negatively. Besides the pandemic the state is also having lack of resources, manpower poor infrastructure as well as positive deviance at community level. These are the barriers in fact beside the epidemic. It seems that there is lack of proper plan to deal with such pandemic situation.
Conclusion The State of Bihar has enforced the epidemic disease act but it seems to be insufficient to give the desired results. The barriers of healthcare system and delivery of services should be rectified added with a proper dynamic plan to carry on usual health delivery services even in pandemics. The state of Bihar needs to develop an exclusive plan to tackle such situations.