JOIN USDC concerned over under reporting of IMR
In his presidential address at a workshop on Infant Death Review (IDR) System jointly organised by the District Health and Family Welfare Office and UNISEF at RAPCC Hall of Govt Wenlock Hospital on Saturday, he said that there is a strong contrast between the IMR of forward districts like Dakshina Kannada (10 per cent IMR) and Udupi and the backward district like Bidar and Gulbarga.
The development of a region or for that matter a nation could be measured by the Infant Mortality Rate, as the IMR will be comparatively lower in the developed regions and vice versa, he said.
Meanwhile, he asked the public to report the infant mortality cases to the medical officers without fail.
Zilla Panchayat CEO P Shivashankar, one of the chief guests of the programme said that IMR plays a significant role in determining the Human Development Index.
“Despite fielding ASHA, NRHM and health workers, many infant mortality cases go unreported. Thus the health department will be asked to tighten the IMR report in the future,” he informed.
Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health Director Prof S Shivananda, UNICEF Health and Nutrition Specialist Dr Sanjeev Upadhyaya and Health and Family Welfare Department Deputy Director Dr Lakshminarayana were the resource persons for the day.
About IDR System
Government of Karnataka bags the credit of being one among the first few states in the country to bring district-level review of infant deaths with involvement of multiple stakeholders. Specific guidelines have been formed by the government with the help of national-level experts in association with UNICEF.
UNICEF has extended its support to two districts namely Raichur and Dakshina Kannada for implementing district-level review programme.