Though the rate of newborn death in Odisha has declined in the recent past, the average Neonatal Mortality Rate (NMR) stands at 53 per 1,000 live births against 42 in the country, said State Health and Family Welfare Department director Dr Nirmala Kumari Dei here on Friday, adding the department has targeted to bring down the NMR in the State to the level 30 by 2015.
Attending a programme organised by NGO ‘Save the Children’, Dr Dei said that every foetus has the right to born live. Attributing the newborn death to sex determination, premature birth, malnutrition and asphyxia, Dei said proper care, monthly check-up and nutrition should be given to the women from the initial stage of her pregnancy. Besides, Dei called for the need for more awareness drive regarding various preventive measures and schemes meant for the pregnant women to ensure every newborn child survives.
Unveiling a global report, Sasanka Kumar Padhee from Save the Children said that India has persistently high rates of newborn mortality. The country accounts for 26.6 per cent of all newborn death globally with 7, 58,000 newborn babies dying per year, he informed. However, the NMR has declined for the first time by two points in two consecutive years, from 33 to 31 in 2010-11 and 31 to 29 per 1,000 live births during 2011-2012, he asserted.
Besides, the speakers highlighted various causes of the child mortality including diarrhoea, measles, malaria and malnutrition. The State Government should also focus on transportation and communication facilities in tribal and remote areas to ensure availability of heath service to pregnant women in the areas, he suggested. Among others, State Institute of Health and Family Welfare (SIHFW) director Dr Bijayeeni Mohapatra, Health and Family Welfare special secretary Dr NK Das, Yumi Bae from UNICEF, Odishi danseuse Aruna Mohanty and Dr Soumyakanta Mishra and Shyamal Kishore Das from Save the Children spoke.