New Delhi (Sputnik) — Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) in India has come down to 39 in 2015 from 50 in 2009, a decline of 11 points over the last five years and an annual average decline of about 1.6 points, according to the latest government data on child health indicators.
The development is significant given the fact that India highest number of maternal and child mortality cases worldwide while it spends the lowest on health. Experts say the recent elimination of maternal and neonatal tetanus and polio have helped India’s fight against infant mortality.
However, despite the decline in figures, child mortality continues to be a major public health problem in India. One in every 23 infants in rural areas and one in every 38 infants in urban areas die in their first year of life. The deaths are largely attributed to premature birth and low birth weight, pneumonia, birth asphyxia and birth trauma, other non-communicable diseases, diarrhea, congenital anomalies, infections, injuries and fever of unknown origin.
