Guwahati: Mizoram’s Lunglei district has been nationally recognized for its maternal and child health initiative, Project Bloom, officials announced on August 8.
Lunglei Deputy Commissioner Navneet Mann presented Project Bloom (Better Living through Outreach, Optimal Maternal and Child Health) as one of the 19 outstanding practices selected for NITI Aayog’s Best Practices Seminar, held on August 7 in New Delhi.
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The event highlighted successful initiatives from 329 aspirational districts and 500 blocks across the country.
Launched on June 17, 2025, Project Bloom aims to tackle the maternal and child health challenges faced by the Lungsen aspirational block in Lunglei.
The region, characterized by rugged terrain, limited internet access, and low awareness, had long faced poor health indicators, which Project Bloom aims to improve.
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The program adopts a community-driven, convergence-based approach, combining health services, nutrition, transportation, and behavioral change to improve the well-being of the population.
A key component of the initiative is an on-call transport service that prioritizes high-risk pregnancies and ensures timely referrals to the district hospital.
Additionally, Project Bloom has established 12 temporary homestays near delivery centers, hosted by local villagers, to provide accommodation and support for expectant mothers.
A house-to-house survey was conducted to identify pregnant women and malnourished children, while incentives were provided to encourage early antenatal care (ANC) registration and institutional deliveries.
Nutrition and hygiene kits were also distributed to further support these efforts.
Other notable interventions included immunization drives to reach remote villages, tracking of high-risk pregnancies, and capacity-building programs for Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs), Anganwadi workers, and other health staff.
The project has already yielded impressive results. Institutional deliveries in the Lungsen block surged from 14.73% in March 2023 to 43.14% in March 2025, reaching 72.2% by June–July 2025, surpassing the 70% mark for the first time.
Early ANC registration also saw a significant increase from 50.6% in March 2023 to 70% by July 2025.
Additionally, the proportion of pregnant women receiving supplementary nutrition under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) program grew from 11.3% in March 2023 to 81.9% by July 2025.
The number of children receiving supplementary nutrition increased from 6.16% to 75% during the same period, while vaccination coverage rose from 63.8% in June–July 2023 to 88.9% in June–July 2025.
Lungsen is one of four rural development blocks in the southern part of Mizoram’s Lunglei district, spanning an area of 424.04 square kilometers.
The block has a population of 18,637, consisting of three communities: Mizo, Chakma, and Bru. It also includes 24 village councils and 3,903 households.