Growth takes along social sector with it

 New Delhi, Oct 14

As the country continues to push the growth engine ahead, reforms in the
social sector go on for a smooth journey. For, infant mortality has declined
to a never-before rate of 57 per thousand births, from 68 a couple of years
ago, according to the National Family Health Survey-III (NFHS-III).

More importantly, this is much lower than the average infant mortality rates
in less developed countries -which is at 91/1000 child births but much
higher than the more developed nations.

Infant mortality rate in countries that are developed than India is about
8/1000 child births. In China, infant mortality rates are reported to be in
the region of 23 per thousand child births.States such as Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Meghalaya, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh which had a very high rate of infant mortality have made substantial progress in ensuring better infant care and registered a notable dip in mortality rates.

Immunization and vaccinations will, however, have to improve a lot.
According to NFHS-III, overall, there was only a small improvement in full
vaccination coverage, with 44% of children between 12 and 23 months
receiving all recommended vaccinations, up from 42% seven years ago.
The improvement index for vaccinations coverage has gone up but for DPT,
which did not show any upswing since the last survey. Gains are particularly
evident for polio immunization coverage, but nearly one-quarter of children
age 12-23 months have still not received the recommended number of polio
doses.

According to the survey, Diarrhoea continues to be a major health problem
for many children. Although knowledge about oral rehydration salts (ORS) for
the treatment of diarrhoea is widespread among mothers, only 26% of children
who had diarrhoea received a solution made from ORS packets, virtually
unchanged from 27% in NFHS-II. Further, only 58% of children with diarrhoea
were taken to a health facility, down from 65% seven years earlier.

Publication : FE; Pg : 1; Date : 14//10/07
URL :
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