ANNOUNCEMENTS
This thesis critically investigates Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) as a multifaceted health system intervention with the potential to enhance sustainable public healthcare in India. The study, which is set within the larger framework of post-COVID recovery and health system reform, uses a sustainability lens—encompassing economic efficiency, social fairness, and environmental responsibility—to evaluate the usefulness and limitations of KMC in the Indian public health landscape.
The analysis employs a qualitative, document-based technique, drawing on national health policy papers, case studies from Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh, and current implementation literature. The data show that KMC has considerable benefits: it lowers neonatal care costs, increases maternal and community participation, and minimizes environmental impact by reducing dependency on high-energy medical equipment and encouraging breastfeeding. Nonetheless, the intervention is underutilized due to legislative neglect, physical constraints, cultural resistance, and fragmented postnatal support networks.
The thesis contends that KMC should be repositioned not just as a neonatal care technique, but also as a strategic entry point for long-term healthcare reform in low-resource contexts. It finishes with specific recommendations for policy integration, infrastructure adaptation, health worker training, and culturally appropriate execution. In doing so, the study adds to the growing discussion on how low-tech, high-impact interventions can help alter health-care systems toward greater resilience, equality, and sustainability.
Keywords: Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC); sustainable healthcare; neonatal care; post-COVID health systems; health equity; low-resource interventions; India; maternal empowerment; health system resilience; environmental sustainability.
