According to a senior UNICEF official, India is not going to meet the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) target of 2015 due to the slow pace of the decline.
The current IMR of India, as per the Sample Registration System (SRS) 2013, is 40 per 1,000 live births while the Under-5 Mortality Rate (U5MR) (in 2012) is 52 per 1,000 live births. At this current rate of decline it seems it will be difficult for India to reach the target of less than 39 per 1,000 live births by the end of 2015.
It is shocking that India accounts for the highest burden of Under-5 deaths in the world. Globally the U5MR reduced by 49 per cent from 90 per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 46 per 1,000 live births in 2013, while India achieved a reduction of 59 per cent in the Under-5 mortality from 126 in 1990 to 52 in 2012, which is higher than the global decline.
Neo-natal deaths account for 56 per cent of Under-5 deaths in India which is much higher than the global average of 44 per cent. The progress in reduction of neo-natal mortality has been slow.
Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan account for half of the Under-5 deaths in India. In India 1.34 million children die before completing five years, of which 7,48,000 die within the first month of their life. This means more than 2,000 newborn die each day in India.
Source ET
