AP IAS officer Nishant Kumar turns changemaker, wins Prime Minister’s award for reducing mortality rates

Parvathipuram-Manyam district has one of the lowest literacy rates in Andhra Pradesh, barely breaching the 50 per cent mark. Apart from this, the region and its people, for long, endured inhospitable terrain, wildlife conflicts, and lack of access to good healthcare and infrastructure, making the district being stuck in social backwardness.

However, the same district has now been recognised at the national level for reversing the trend of high mortality rates that was very much prevalent till a few years back. The man who spearheaded the change was an IAS officer of AP cadre, Nishant Kumar. During his tenure as a district collector (2021 to 2024), he launched a programme called ‘Prism 10’ aimed at improving the lives of the local tribal population who faced unique health challenges. Due to his effective implementation leading to impressive results, Nishant Kumar won the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration in the category of ‘Innovation-District’ for the year 2023.

The 'Prism 10' programme was launched in 2022 to tackle maternal and child health issues. In 2021, the Infant Mortality Rate (IFR) stood at an alarming 24 (per 1,000 live births) and Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) at 129 (per 1 lakh live births). The immunisation cover was only 48 per cent in the district. 'Prism 10' was designed to have a targeted approach towards public health. The first step was to rope in adoption officers, who were drawn from the village and ward secretariat system, self-help groups, anganwadi workers and health department staff. They were instructed to specifically work for high-risk pregnant women and infants.

The next step was to leverage technology to achieve goals. Modern analytics was used to identify medical gaps and provide immediate services. Digital health platforms also played a key part in it. Another critical component of 'Prism 10' project was the expansion of medical services. Twenty-nine mobile health clinics were pressed into service to provide health in remote areas. Through “family doctor” programme, 282 community health offices strengthened the medical facilities in the tribal and interior areas. Anaemia action groups were tasked with reducing maternal and child anaemia. Secretariats were ordered to monitor monthly progress of the project. In the next two years, the exercise yielded visible results. By 2024, the IMR had fallen from 24 to 8 and MMR from 129 to 67. The immunisation went up drastically from 48 per cent to 97 per cent.