The Centre has launched the SUMAN Roadmap 2030, a comprehensive national framework aimed at strengthening maternal and newborn healthcare and accelerating India’s progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to maternal and infant mortality by 2030. The roadmap was unveiled by Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda during the 16th Conference of the Central Council of Health and Family Welfare (CCHFW) at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi. Developed under the Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, Adolescent Health and Nutrition (RMNCHA+N) framework the roadmap adopts a life-cycle approach, covering pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period. It integrates maternal and newborn care with child health, adolescent health, family planning and nutrition programmes to ensure continuous and quality healthcare for mothers and babies.
A major feature of the strategy is a structured four-stage framework for identifying, tracking and managing high-risk pregnancies during antenatal care, the third trimester, childbirth and the postnatal period. The roadmap also addresses key challenges such as emergency obstetric care, transportation, healthcare access in tribal and remote regions, community participation and the impact of climate change on maternal and newborn health.
To accelerate progress in areas with the highest burden of maternal and newborn deaths, the Centre will implement focused interventions across 130 districts in 13 high-focus states Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal. The strategy also outlines measures for all states and Union Territories to strengthen maternal and newborn healthcare services.
The roadmap introduces a SUMAN Package for Pregnant Women promoting early pregnancy registration, comprehensive antenatal care, quality clinical assessments and adequate post-delivery institutional care. It also provides for bi-weekly home visits by ASHA workers during the final months of pregnancy, financial support for designated caregivers during the postnatal period, improved referral transport and the establishment of Birth Waiting Homes, Maternal and Child Health Wings, Obstetric High Dependency Units (HDUs) and Intensive Care Units (ICUs) in underserved areas.
For all states and Union Territories, the roadmap proposes several nationwide measures, including pre-pregnancy folic acid supplementation, expanded nutrition interventions to combat maternal anaemia, improved surveillance of high-risk pregnancies, wider deployment of Non-Pneumatic Anti-Shock Garments (NASG) for managing obstetric haemorrhage, AI-enabled labour rooms, digital monitoring through the JANANI Portal, community initiatives such as SUMAN Panchayats and climate-responsive planning for maternal and newborn care.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said the roadmap seeks to reduce the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) to below 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030 while further lowering the Neonatal Mortality Rate (NMR) and Infant Mortality Rate (IMR). It also aims to achieve universal coverage of quality maternal and newborn healthcare services and eliminate preventable maternal and newborn deaths in line with India’s SDG commitments.
The government described the SUMAN Roadmap 2030 as a transformative strategy combining evidence-based interventions, digital innovation, stronger health systems and active community participation to ensure that every mother and newborn receives safe, equitable and quality healthcare across the country.
