SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir has reported one of the greatest improvements in maternal health documentation in the country, with the Union Health Ministry informing Lok Sabha that the share of registered pregnancies receiving a Mother and Child Protection (MCP) Card has risen from 88.7 per cent in NFHS-4 (2015–16) to 97.3 per cent in NFHS-5 (2019–21). Ladakh, now a separate Union Territory, has also shown significant progress, climbing from 93.7 per cent to 97.8 per cent in the same period.
The MCP Card, issued at the time of antenatal registration, serves as a comprehensive health record for pregnant women and newborns. Minister of State for Health Anupriya Patel told Parliament that 95.9 per cent of all registered pregnancies nationally are now covered under this system, according to NFHS-5 data.
For Jammu and Kashmir, the improvement places the UT well above the national average and alongside high-performing States such as Goa, Odisha, and Tamil Nadu. The rise also aligns with sustained financial support: between 2021–22 and 2024–25, Jammu and Kashmir received more than Rs 32,500 crore under maternal health approvals through the National Health Mission. Ladakh received over Rs 1,500 crore for the same period.
The government informed the Lok Sabha that a national study on MCP Card usage, conducted by the National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development, found that awareness among frontline workers, such as Anganwadi workers, ASHAs, and ANMs, exceeded 90 per cent. Among mothers, awareness was strongest for children aged six months to three years.
The study also noted that the MCP Card is widely used to explain antenatal care, delivery preparedness, newborn danger signs, and nutrition. The government stated that it continues to fund awareness efforts through State and UT health budgets, although State-wise expenditure details remain provisional based on the financial reports submitted so far.
While the question in Parliament sought district-wise data specifically for Andhra Pradesh, the Centre emphasised that the MCP Card has become a near-universal tool across the country, with multiple States — including Jammu and Kashmir — registering dramatic gains in coverage over the last five years.
