Sikkim partners with ICMR-NIRRCH to study declining birth rate

The Government of Sikkim has collaborated with the Indian Council of Medical Research's National Institute for Research in Reproductive and Child Health (ICMR, NIRRCH) to conduct a detailed study on the state's decreasing birth rate, as per the officials.

A two day project coordination meeting was convened on January 6 and 7 at ICMR, NIRRCH in Mumbai to review the study's scope and execution. The study is meant to track fertility trends in Sikkim and examine the readiness of the state health system to manage the problems related to a low birth rate.

The study titled "Rapid Assessment of Fertility Trends, Determinants and Preparedness of the State Health System in Sikkim to Address Low Total Fertility Rate (TFR)", is supported by ICMR, NIRRCH and it is being conducted with technical guidance from ICMR, NIRRCH and the International Institute of Health Management Research (IIHMR), in association with the Government of Sikkim and other partner institutions.

The study aims to identify the factors responsible for the falling fertility rates and the decision of families to have fewer children in the state, officials said, adding that it would also look at the ability of hospitals and health services to meet the needs of infertile couples as well as reproductive health generally.

At the meeting, which was chaired by Dr. Geetanjali Sachdeva, Director of ICMR, NIRRCH, Dr. Anushree Patil, Scientist, F and Head of the Clinical Research Division at ICMR, NIRRCH and the study's principal investigator, was involved in a very detailed discussion with the teams of ICMR, NIRRCH and IIHMR.

The Sikkim government delegation was led by Rohini Pradhan, Additional Secretary-cum-Programme Director of Sikkim INSPIRES under the Planning and Development Department, who is also the study’s co-principal investigator. Senior doctors, academics and research staff from state hospitals and educational institutions were also present.

During the meeting, participants finalised the project plan, timelines and institutional roles, identified study locations across Sikkim, and approved data collection tools. To formalise the collaboration, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between ICMR-NIRRCH, IIHMR, ICMR-RMRCNE and the Government of Sikkim.