India far away from curbing neonatal deaths

If current trends of child mortality continue in 2030, India would be one of the five countries which will account for half of the global burden of deaths under-five.

The State of World’s Children, UNICEF’s flagship annual report, which was released on Tuesday, revealed that in 2030, 17% of under-five deaths in the world will be in India.

The other four countries which will be contributing to the increased number of under-five deaths are Nigeria (15%), Pakistan (8%), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (7%) and Angola (5%).

According to the report, India will also not achieve targets of reduction in Neonatal Mortality Rate (death from 1 to 27 days after birth), one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) set by the United Nations for 2030.

“South Asia will not achieve the neonatal target until 2049 and sub-Saharan Africa will reach it after mid-century. The average annual rate of reduction in neonatal mortality required for India to reach the target is almost double the current level,” says the report.

The 2030 goals have set a high bar for progress on maternal, newborn and child survival and health. Among the targets for Goal 3 is the aim to reduce neonatal mortality to at least as low as 12 deaths per 1,000 live births and under-five mortality to at least as low as 25 deaths per 1,000 live births in every country.

Louis-Georges Arsenault, Representative, UNICEF India, released the report. Dr S C Khuntia, Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Dr Rajesh Kumar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development and  Professor Shyam Menon, Vice-Chancellor of Ambedkar University, Delhi were present.

India with its 48 deaths per thousand live births ranks 48 in the list of countries with highest number of Under Five Mortality Rate (U5MR). The Infant Mortality (death under one year) Rate in India is 38 deaths per 1,000 live births and Neonatal Mortality Rate is 28 per 1,000.