Aizawl: The district administration of Lunglei in Mizoram earned national recognition on Thursday when it presented its flagship maternal and child health initiative, Project BLOOM, at the ‘Best Practices Seminar’ organized by NITI Aayog in New Delhi, said officials.
The event celebrated successful interventions from 329 aspirational districts and 500 aspirational blocks across the country, they said.
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Under the theme “Transforming Health: Breakthrough Interventions,” Lunglei Deputy Commissioner Navneet Mann presented Project BLOOM (Better Living through Outreach, Optimal Maternal and Child Health) as one of the 19 selected best practices.
Launched on June 17 this year, Project BLOOM addresses maternal and child health challenges in the Lungsen aspirational block in Lunglei district, according to officials.
The region—with its difficult terrain, high logistical costs, limited internet access, and awareness gaps—had long struggled with poor health indicators, they said.
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Project BLOOM aims to close these gaps through a community-driven, convergence-based approach that integrates health, nutrition, transport, and behaviour change, they said.
Under this project, the administration introduced an on-call transport service that prioritises high-risk pregnancies and remote villages to ensure timely referrals to the district hospital. Villagers set up twelve temporary homestays near delivery points to provide accommodation and support until delivery. VHSNCs conducted house-to-house surveys to identify pregnant women and malnourished children (SAM/MAM).
The administration provided incentives to promote early antenatal care (ANC) registration and institutional deliveries, including distributing nutrition and hygiene kits.
The administration organised outreach programmes targeting men, job card holders, Self-Help Groups, and religious leaders to promote maternal health practices.
Other key interventions of the project included immunisation drives targeting hard-to-reach villages, high-risk pregnancy tracking, capacity building for ASHAs, Anganwadi, and health workers, and training of local dais.
According to officials, Project BLOOM has brought about a significant transformation in the maternal and child health landscape in the Lungsen block.
They further said that institutional deliveries increased from 14.73 per cent in March 2023 to 43.14 per cent in March 2025, and surged to 72.2 per cent by June–July 2025, crossing the 70 per cent mark for the first time.
Early ANC registration (first trimester) improved from 50.6 per cent (March 2023) to 68.14 per cent (March 2025), and further to 70 per cent (July 2025), they said.
The percentage of pregnant women receiving supplementary nutrition under ICDS rose from 11.3 per cent (March 2023) to 81.9 per cent (July 2025).
Children (6 months–6 years) receiving supplementary nutrition increased from 6.16 per cent to 75 per cent during the same period.
Vaccination coverage climbed from 63.8 per cent (June–July 2023) to 88.9 per cent (June–July 2025).
Officials also identified 133 pregnant women in the most recent house-to-house survey.
Of these:
- 116 women had registered for ANC,
- 30 SAM/MAM children were identified, and
- 715 children and 72 pregnant women were found to be regularly availing supplementary nutrition at Anganwadi centres, they said.
Lungsen is one of the four rural development blocks in south Mizoram’s Lunglei district, covering an area of 424.04 sq. km.
It has a population of 18,637, with three communities—Mizo, Chakma, and Bru—living peacefully.
The block comprises 24 village councils and 3,903 households.
There is one primary health centre, seven health and wellness centres, one health sub-centre, and 44 Anganwadi centres.