Less children are dying in India, new data shows. According to the latest SRS (Sample Registration System) bulletin, India has registered a significant decline in its Infant Mortality Rate (IMR). The rate of deaths of children under 12 months has declined by three points—from 37 per 1,000 live births in 2015, to 34 per 1,000 live births in 2016.
This is higher than the decline of two points in the previous year. India has registered 90,000 fewer infant deaths in 2016 as compared to 2015. The total number of estimated infant deaths have come down from 930,000 in 2015 to 840,000 in 2016. According to the Sustainable Development Goals, India needs to achieve an IMR of 30 per 1,000 live births, and this decline is a significant step in reaching that target.
However, if one looked at the National Family Health Survey, 2015-16, the infant mortality rate stands at 41, down from 57 in 2005-06.
The SRS data, released annually, has also recorded a major drop in birth cohort—for the first time, it has come down to below 25 million. What is also encouraging is that the gender gap in India for child survival has been reducing steadily. The gender difference between female and male IMR has now reduced to less than 10 per cent.
The Union ministry of health and family welfare attributed this to its “strategic approach” and its focus on “low-performing states”. Among the empowered action group states and Assam, all states except Uttarakhand, have reported a decline in IMR in comparison to 2015. The decline is reported as four points in Bihar, three points in Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand and two points in Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Rajasthan.
