NEW DELHI/LUNGLEI: Lunglei district’s innovative health initiative, Project Bloom, has caught the nation’s attention, securing a coveted spot at the NITI Aayog’s prestigious ‘Best Practices Seminar’ in New Delhi. The programme, an acronym for Better Living through Outreach, Optimal Maternal and Child Health, was presented by Lunglei Deputy Commissioner Navneet Mann as one of the 19 exemplary interventions from across 329 aspirational districts and 500 aspirational blocks.
Launched just this year on June 17, Project Bloom is a targeted effort to tackle the persistent maternal and child health challenges plaguing the Lungsen aspirational block.
The region, known for its challenging topography, steep logistical expenses, and sparse internet connectivity, has long struggled with poor health indicators. Project Bloom, however, has managed to turn the tide with its community-driven, convergence-based strategy that knits together health, nutrition, transport, and behavioural change.
A key component of the scheme is an on-call transport service specifically for high-risk pregnancies, ensuring timely referrals to the district hospital. To address accommodation challenges, the project established 12 temporary homestays near delivery centres, where compassionate villagers provide shelter and support to expectant mothers.
Ground-level efforts have been equally rigorous, with dedicated house-to-house surveys to identify pregnant women and malnourished children. To promote early antenatal care registration and institutional deliveries, incentives like nutrition and hygiene kits are being distributed. The initiative also focuses on high-risk pregnancy tracking, robust immunisation drives, and capacity-building for Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs), Aanganwadi, and other health workers. The results speak for themselves: institutional deliveries have skyrocketed from a mere 14.73% in March 2023 to an impressive 72.2% by June-July 2025, a first-time milestone. Early Antenatal Care (ANC) registration has similarly jumped from 50.6% to 70% in July this year.
Furthermore, the number of pregnant women and children receiving supplementary nutrition under the Integrated Child Development Services has seen a dramatic increase, rising from 11.3% to 81.9% and 6.16% to 75% respectively. Vaccination coverage has also significantly improved, climbing from 63.8% to 88.9% in the past two years. The Lungsen block, a home to the Mizo, Chakma, and Bru communities, spans 424.04 sq. km and comprises 24 village councils and 3,903 households. Project Bloom’s success story stands as a beacon of hope, demonstrating how concerted, community-centric efforts can overcome geographical and logistical barriers to deliver tangible improvements in public health.
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