Maternal Mortality Ratio of India declines by 9 points in one year
Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) of India has declined by 9 points in one year, according to the Special Bulletin on MMR released by the Registrar General of India on Friday. The ratio has declined from 122 in 2015-17 to 113 in 2016-18 registering a 7.4 % decline.
“The country has been witnessing a progressive reduction in MMR from 167 in 2011-2013, 130 in 2014-2016, 122 in 2015-17, and to 113 in 2016-18. With this persistent decline, India is on track to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of 70/ lakh live births by 2030 and National Health Policy (NHP) target of 100/ live births by 2020.,” Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare said.
The bulletin stated that the number of states which have achieved the SDG target has now risen from 3 to 5. These are Kerala (43), Maharashtra (46) Tamil Nadu (60), Telangana (63) and Andhra Pradesh (65). There are eleven (11) States that have achieved the target of MMR set by the NHP which includes the above 5 and the states of Jharkhand (71), Gujarat (75), Haryana (91), Karnataka (92), West Bengal (98) and Uttarakhand (99).
Similarly, three states (Punjab (129), Bihar (149), Odisha (150)) have MMR in between 100-150, while for 5 states namely, Chhattisgarh (159), Rajasthan (164), Madhya Pradesh (173), Uttar Pradesh (197) and Assam (215), MMR is above 150.
Interestingly, Rajasthan showed the maximum decline of 22 points, Uttar Pradesh of 19 points, Odisha of 18 points, Bihar of 16 points and Madhya Pradesh of 15 points. While Telangana and Maharashtra have shown more than 15% decline in MMR, four states namely, Odisha, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, and Gujarat have shown a decline between 10-15%. Also, seven states –Karnataka, Assam, Jharkhand, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar have witnessed a decline between 5-10%, the bulletin said.
“This success can be attributed to the intensive endeavour of the government in achieving impressive gains in institutional deliveries as well as focusing on quality and coverage of services under National Health Mission (NHM) through various schemes such as Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram, Janani Suraksha Yojana, and newer initiatives like LaQshya and Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan,” Harsh Vardhan said.
“The government also envisages rolling out the overarching SUMAN initiative including the midwifery initiative, assuring delivery of maternal and newborn healthcare services encompassing wider access to free and quality services, zero tolerance for denial of services along with respectful maternity care,” he said.
