Mizoram’s Lunglei district has earned national praise for its flagship maternal and child health programme, Project Bloom, which has dramatically improved health indicators in one of the state’s most challenging regions. The initiative was showcased by Lunglei Deputy Commissioner Navneet Mann at the Best Practices Seminar organised by NITI Aayog in New Delhi on August 7. Project Bloom was selected as one of the 19 best practices nationwide from 329 aspirational districts and 500 aspirational blocks across India, under the theme “Transforming Health: Breakthrough Interventions.”Launched on June 17, 2025, in the Lungsen aspirational block — a remote area known for its rugged terrain, high transportation costs, and limited internet access — the project addresses long-standing barriers to maternal and child healthcare. Many villages in the block have historically faced poor institutional delivery rates, inadequate nutrition support, and gaps in antenatal care.
Project Bloom adopts a community-driven, convergence-based approach that integrates health, nutrition, transport, and behavioural change. Among its most innovative features are an on-call transport service for high-risk pregnancies, ensuring timely referrals to the district hospital, and 12 temporary homestays near delivery points hosted by local villagers, providing expectant mothers with safe and supportive accommodation until childbirth.House-to-house surveys have identified pregnant women and malnourished children, with incentives such as nutrition and hygiene kits offered to encourage early antenatal registration and institutional deliveries. The project also includes immunisation drives targeting remote villages, high-risk pregnancy tracking, and capacity-building programmes for ASHA, Aanganwadi, and health workers.
The results have been striking. Institutional deliveries rose from 14.73% in March 2023 to 43.14% in March 2025, and then surged to 72.2% by June–July 2025 — crossing the 70% mark for the first time. Early antenatal registration improved from 50.6% in March 2023 to 70% in July this year. Supplementary nutrition coverage for pregnant women leapt from 11.3% in March 2023 to 81.9% in July 2025, while for children it rose from just 6.16% to 75% in the same period. Vaccination rates climbed from 63.8% in June–July 2023 to 88.9% this year.Lungsen block, which covers 424.04 sq. km and is home to 18,637 people across the Mizo, Chakma, and Bru communities, now stands as a model for how targeted interventions can overcome geographical and logistical barriers to healthcare.
