A sterilization camp held in Chhattisgarh, an impoverished state in central India, has claimed the lives of 13 women, most of whom were young and marginalized. The women, who died within hours of the procedure, were among a group of 83 patients sterilized over the course of just five hours at the mobile clinic. It now appears they died as a result of contaminated medicines. The incident raises critical questions about surgical standards, infection control protocols and post-operative care in India’s reproductive health and family-planning program.
The tragedy that unfolded at this clinic shows how urgently the approach taken to sterilization in India needs to be changed. Warnings have been made before about conditions in these camps. In 1994, as part of a team of researchers, I observed 48 procedures carried out in just over two hours at a camp in Kerala, a state in southern region which ranks the highest among Indian states in terms of human capital, social and health development.
Yet, surprisingly, regulations were being violated at the campsite and poor hygiene standards and a lack of decent infrastructure were clear. There was inadequate counselling for the patients undergoing sterilization and they were not getting follow-up attention.
