Dr. Meena Seram is a dedicated public health specialist and senior government official from Manipur, India, specializing in maternal health, vital statistics, and reproductive health programs under the National Health Mission (NHM). As of November 2025, she serves as the State Nodal Officer (SNO) for Maternal Health in the Department of Health & Family Welfare, Government of Manipur. Her work focuses on improving maternal and child health outcomes in a region facing unique challenges like ethnic diversity, remote terrain, and resource constraints.

Dr. Seram’s efforts align with the Government of India’s broader initiatives under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), emphasizing data-driven interventions to reduce maternal mortality and enhance healthcare access.

Dr. Meena Seram’s career is deeply embedded in public health administration, with a focus on maternal health policy implementation at the state level. She has been instrumental in bridging national health schemes with grassroots delivery in Manipur:

• State Nodal Officer for Maternal Health: In this pivotal role under the NHM Manipur, Dr. Seram oversees statewide programs for antenatal care (ANC), high-risk pregnancy screening, and maternal death surveillance. She coordinates with district health officers, specialists, and community health workers to ensure timely interventions. Notable initiatives include:
  • The Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA), a monthly outreach for high-risk pregnancies. In February 2021, she participated in the “Mironbising gi Khudol” (Mothers’ Footsteps) event at Heirok Community Health Centre (CHC) in Thoubal District, where screenings identified vulnerable pregnant women, supported by OBGY specialists like Dr. James Elangbam.
  • Supportive supervision visits, such as the May 2024 mentoring program at Phubala CHC, where she collaborated with Dr. Y. Premchandra (Joint Director, Planning & SMO NCD) to train staff on gestational diabetes management (GDM) and ANC for attending mothers.
• Nodal Officer for Vital Statistics: Dr. Meena Seram has been the Manipur government’s lead on civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS), prioritizing the accurate reporting and classification of deaths, particularly maternal ones. In a 2022 interview with The Straits Times, she highlighted the state’s commitment to this area, noting that such data is essential for tracking disease trends and informing public health policies. This role addresses India’s broader challenge, where over 75% of deaths in 2020 went unclassified, by strengthening household-level reporting through health workers and local facilities.

Her contributions extend to inter-departmental coordination with MoHFW, ensuring Manipur’s alignment with national goals like the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on health. As a government servant, she engages in field-level mentoring, program evaluations, and stakeholder collaborations, often in partnership with NGOs and international bodies.

Contributions and Impact

Dr. Meena Seram’s work has directly bolstered Manipur’s maternal health metrics, contributing to a decline in maternal mortality ratios (MMR) through proactive surveillance and capacity building. By emphasizing vital statistics, she has improved data quality for evidence-based policymaking, aiding national reports on health outcomes. Her on-ground involvement in programs like PMSMA has empowered rural and underserved communities, particularly in districts like Thoubal and Imphal East, where access to specialized care is limited.