India continues to witness significant improvement in key maternal, child health indicators — Report
Published on May 10, 2025
By IANS
- NEW DELHI — India is witnessing a steady downward trend in maternal and child
mortality towards the achievement of UN-mandated Sustainable Development Goals
(SDG) 2030 targets, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Saturday.
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- Citing Registrar General of India’s (RGI) recently
launched Sample Registration System (SRS) Report 2021, the Ministry stated that
there has been a significant reduction in Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR),
Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), Neonatal Mortality Rate (NMR) and Under-Five
Mortality Rate (U5MR).
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- "India's progress in reduction of maternal and child
mortality indicators outpaces global averages,” the Ministry said.
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- "These sustained improvements are a result of
strategic interventions and the unwavering commitment of the government,"
it added.
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- While the MMR declined by 37 points from 130 per lakh
live births in 2014-16 to 93 in 2019-21, the IMR declined from 39 per 1000 live
births in 2014 to 27 per 1000 live births in 2021.
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- NMR declined from 26 per 1000 live births in 2014 to 19
per 1000 live births in 2021, and U5MR declined from 45 per 1000 live births in
2014 to 31 per 1000 live births in 2021.
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- Notably, the sex ratio at birth saw an improvement from
899 in 2014 to 913 in 2021. Total Fertility Rate is consistent at 2.0 in 2021,
which is a significant improvement from 2.3 in 2014, according to the SRS
report.
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- Further, it showed that eight states have already
attained the SDG target of MMR: Kerala (20), Maharashtra (38), Telangana (45),
Andhra Pradesh (46), Tamil Nadu (49), Jharkhand (51), Gujarat (53), Karnataka
(63).
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- Twelve states/UT have already attained SDG target of
U5MR: Kerala (8), Delhi (14), Tamil Nadu (14), Jammu and Kashmir (16),
Maharashtra (16), West Bengal (20), Karnataka (21), Punjab (22), Telangana
(22), Himachal Pradesh (23), Andhra Pradesh (24) and Gujarat (24).
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- Six states/ UT have already attained the SDG target of
NMR: Kerala (4), Delhi (8), Tamil Nadu (9), Maharashtra (11), Jammu and Kashmir
(12) and Himachal Pradesh (12).
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- The ministry attributed the improvements to "the
flagship health schemes which have seamlessly integrated to guarantee
dignified, respectful, and high-quality healthcare services -- completely free
of cost, with zero tolerance for denial of care".
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- The Ministry said it is also reinforcing health data
systems and real-time surveillance for maternal, newborn, and child health
through digital platforms, thereby facilitating data-driven, evidence-based
policy decisions.
