E-Paper
Himachal sees 23% decline in infant mortality rate
The decline in Himachal’s infant mortality rate was aided by increased institutional deliveries, immunisation and targeted mother and childcare schemes.
Himachal saw a 23% decline in the infant and child mortality rate in 2019-20 as compared to 2015-16, the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5) revealed. The improvement was aided by increased institutional deliveries, immunisation and targeted mother and childcare schemes, it was stated.
The infant mortality rate, which is the number of deaths per 1,000 births of children under the age of one, stood at 26 in the latest survey, as compared to 34 during National Family Health Survey-4 conducted in 2015-16.
The infant mortality rate is generally higher in males during the neonatal period (the first month after birth), but in the post-neonatal period, it is higher in females.
The survey revealed that the infant mortality rate is higher for scheduled castes (29) as compared to those not from scheduled castes (25). The infant mortality rate for other backward classes stood at 22 while that for scheduled tribes was 21.
The survey found a significant connection between education and infant mortality risk, with the infant mortality rate being much higher for children whose mothers have less than 10 years of schooling (40 per 1,000 live births) than others (22 per 1,000 live births).
Institutional deliveries on the rise
The survey revealed 88% of births take place in a health facility, mostly government-run, with home births accounting for only about 11%.
“Institutional deliveries increased by 12% in the last four years. Institutional births are more common among women with 12 or more years of schooling, women who are having their first birth, and urban women,” it stated. At least 21% of births in the last five years were through caesarean section, with 36% of those being emergency procedures.
The survey also revealed a majority of deliveries were supervised by skilled professionals. “Eighty-seven percent of births during the last five years took place with assistance from a skilled provider, and another 7% were delivered by a traditional birth attendant,” it stated.
Further findings included a 91% rate of home births undertaking standard procedure.
Vaccination numbers see a jump
The hill-state also recorded a substantial increase of 17% in the vaccination of children since the last survey, as per latest findings. Nearly 9 in 10 children (89%) aged 12-23 months received all vaccinations against six major diseases, including tuberculosis, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio and measles. Additionally, 98% of children are at least partially vaccinated; only 2% have not received any vaccinations at all.
Between NFHS-4 and NFHS-5, there was an increase in vaccination coverage for three doses of all basic vaccines: DPT (from 85% to 96%), measles (from 88% to 96%), BCG (from 95% to 98%) and polio vaccine (from 82% to 90%).
“Overall, there was an encouraging change in the coverage of all basic vaccinations (from 70% to 89%). In addition, almost all (96%) children have received all three recommended doses of hepatitis B vaccine,” the survey found.
Coverage for all basic vaccinations is higher in boys than girls (93% versus 86%) and for urban than rural areas (94% versus 89 %). The numbers are lowest among children belonging to scheduled tribes (87%).
