Infant Mortality Rate: UP tops in newborn deaths in Dalit community, Chhattisgarh tops in ST community

Government’s data inaccurate in assessing health disparities; Alarming statistics highlight the urgent need for holistic measures to ensure equitable health care

On December 5, during the ongoing winter parliamentary session, Phulo Devi Netam raised questions regarding the performance of STs (Scheduled Tribes) and SCs (Scheduled Tribes) under various health indicators. The questions were specifically related to infant and child mortality prevalent in the SC and ST community. Another question asked by Phulo Devi sought information about measures taken by the government to improve the health status of the poor and marginalized STs and SCs.

Phulo Devi was elected Rajya Sabha member from Chhattisgarh in the year 2020 as a member of Congress. These questions were addressed to Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, who currently serves as the Minister of Health and Family Welfare and is a Rajya Sabha member from Gujarat.

Specifically, infant mortality rate is the death of an infant before his or her first birthday, i.e. the infant mortality rate is the number of deaths among every 1,000 live births. According to the data provided, the infant mortality rate for the SC community in India is 40.7. Uttar Pradesh has the highest infant mortality rate among Scheduled Castes, which stands at 57.8. The data shows that the lowest infant mortality rate among the Scheduled Caste community is in Jammu and Kashmir with a rate of 13.8.

It is important to note that the data provided by the government is incomplete as information about 9 states, namely Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Kerala, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura was either not available or not captured. Was. Therefore, the data given in the reply by the Government cannot be considered accurate as the infant mortality rate is not accurate in 9 out of 30 states.

Regarding infant mortality rate for ST, the rate in India is 41.6. The infant mortality rate in the state of Chhattisgarh is 58, which is the highest among the ST community. On the other hand, the lowest infant mortality rate of 23.2 among the ST community was recorded in the north-eastern state of Manipur. As before, the above data on infant mortality rate for STs does not provide accurate information for the total 14 States/UTs.

Data on child mortality prevalent in both SC and ST communities was also provided. A point to note is that child mortality rate is the death of a child before reaching the age of 5 years, i.e., child mortality rate is the number of deaths of children for every 1,000 live births. The data table shows that the child mortality rate for SC and ST is 8.6 and 9.0 respectively.

In terms of child mortality rate for the Scheduled Caste community, the state of Jharkhand had the highest at 13.8, while the lowest rate was in West Bengal at 1.5. Here also information about nine states was missing. It is important to point out that these nine states are the same states for which there is no or inaccurate information regarding infant mortality rates among Scheduled Castes.

Based on the data, the highest child mortality rate among Scheduled Tribes was in Madhya Pradesh at 13.9. Meanwhile, the lowest child mortality rate was in West Bengal with 0 deaths. Information about 13 states could not be found here. The data provided by the Central Government in its response was based on state-wise data from NFHS-5 (2019-21).

It can be inferred that while significant progress has been made through initiatives such as the National Health Policy 2017 and National Health Mission (NHM) to increase access, affordability and quality health care for all, the same remains for the SC and ST community. There is a lot of scope for improvement. As noted above, gaps remain in achieving true universal health coverage and addressing the diverse needs of the population, especially marginalized and economically disadvantaged groups. Further concrete action and innovative strategies are needed to bridge these gaps and ensure that no person faces financial hardship or exclusion from essential health services. Continued collaborative efforts between government, healthcare providers and communities, as well as continued commitment to the principles of equity, affordability, universality and quality care, will be critical in moving towards comprehensive and inclusive healthcare for all.

Courtesy-News Click