Wednesday, Nov 01, 2006
Maternal mortality rate declines http://www.hindu.com/2006/11/01/stories/2006110100791400.htm
Aarti Dhar
Infant Mortality Rate also has shown a decline to 58 per lakh live births from 80 per lakh live births in 1991
Government announces several incentives to promote institutional deliveries and family planning procedures
NEW DELHI: The Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR), maternal death per lakh live births, in the country has substantially come down to 301 between 1997-2003 as against 407 in the early 90s. However, nearly two-thirds of the maternal deaths occur in the Empowered Action Group (EAG) States including Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa and Assam, according to the latest figures released by the Registrar General of India and the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry here on Tuesday.
The Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), too, has shown a decline to 58 per lakh live births from 80 per lakh live births in 1991. Here again, the rate is high in the low performing EAG states and Assam.
While expressing satisfaction over the overall relative decline of 24 per cent in maternal mortality, the Union Health and Family Welfare Secretary P.K.Hota announced several incentives to promote institutional deliveries and family planning procedures.
Conditionalities
The Centre has decided to do away with the earlier conditionalties like certificates to provide better healthcare to mother and child in the States, where health infrastructure is far from satisfactory. This will cost the Government Rs 1,800 crore in the Eleventh Plan.
The MMR was the lowest in Kerala (110), Tamil Nadu (134), Maharashtra (149), Haryana (162), Gujarat (172), Punjab (178), West Bengal (194), Andhra Pradesh (195), Karnataka (228), Orissa (358), Bihar (371), Madhya Pradesh (379), Rajasthan (445), Assam (490) and Uttar Pradesh (517). Only about 28 per cent of all births in 2003 occurred in private or public institutions and increases in proportion have been slow from 1990. Institutional deliveries have been 15.8 per cent in EAG states and Assam, 64 per cent in southern States and 33.8 per cent in the remaining states.
QuestCopyright © 2006, The Hindu.