India has brought down the death of children under one year - from 37 per 1000 live births in 2015 to 34 per 1,000 live births in 2016 - according to India has also recorded a major drop in birth cohort, which has for the first time come down to below 25 million, according to the SRS bulletin. India has registered 90000 fewer infant deaths in 2016 as compared to 2015. The total number of estimated infant deaths have come down from 930000 (9.3 lakhs) in 2015 to 840000 (8.4 lakhs) in 2016.
These remarkable achievements in merely one year is also the result of a countrywide efforts to increase the health service coverage through various initiatives of the Government that includes strengthening of service delivery; quality assurance; human resources, community processes; information and knowledge.
Others include, drugs and diagnostics, and supply chain management, etc, said a senior official from the Union Health Ministry.He summed up saying that results signify that the strategic approach of the Ministry has started yielding dividends and the efforts of focusing on low performing States is paying off.
A recent study published in the medical journal lancet had noted a significant decline in cause-specific child mortality rates between 2000 and 2015 in the country. The faster declines in child mortality after 2005 (average annual decline of 3.4% for neonatal mortality and 5.9% for 1 to 59-month mortality) suggests that the country has avoided about one million more child deaths compared to the rates of progress in 2000-2005, it said.
