JAIPUR: Over the past 10 years, Rajasthan has improved considerably in saving the lives of infants. Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) in the state has reduced from 59 to 35 which means that for every 1,000 babies born, 35 are dying before turning a year old, just released data from the Sample Registration System (SRS), office of the registrar general, India shows based on the figures of 2019.
The survey shows that national average reduction in IMR in the past 10 years was 20, but in Rajasthan it was 24—from 59 to 35 deaths per 1,000 live births.
Though state has gained more in reduction in IMR in comparison to country’s reduction in 10 years, still the average IMR in the country is lesser than the state’s IMR. Country’s IMR has reduced from 32 to 30, while state’s IMR has taken a dip from 37 to 35 from 2018 to 2019. Odisha has reported highest reduction by 27 deaths per 1,000 live births, followed by J&K (25) and Rajasthan is at the third place, sharing it with Andhra Pradesh and Haryana as they witnessed reduction in IMR by 24 deaths per 1,000 live births.
“The significant dip in 10 years in IMR is an effort of the officials working tirelessly and also the schemes of the state government for strengthening healthcare facilities for infants,” a senior health department official said. The official said that institutional deliveries have gone up, immunization coverage of mother and infants have also improved significantly and facilities for care of mother and infants have also enhanced over the past few years. Health officials said Janani Matra Shishu Suraksha Yojana, free medicine and diagnostic schemes, too, helped the state in making it a better place for infants.
While the state has witnessing significant reduction in IMR but there is still a major concern as the gap between rural and urban areas is quite wide. In urban areas, 25 infants died per 1,000 live births but in rural areas it is 38 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, which indicates that a lot of work needs to be done in rural areas to save more lives of the infants.
