Centre keen to replicate Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram’s low IMR trend in other states

Eastern Mirror Desk
Dimapur, July 6: With infant mortality rate (IMR) declining rapidly in Nagaland, Manipur, and Mizoram, the ministry of Health and Family Welfare (child health division), is taking a keen interest in the identification of determinants for low IMR, an article from the Indian Express read.
“In spite of having barriers, different ecological region, culture and socio-economic variation, the three states are lowering IMR. It is a unique and powerful achievement which the rest of India can learn from,” deputy commissioner for the ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Dr Ajay Khera, said.

The commissioner was speaking at a one-day regional consultation on the identification of determinants for low IMR in Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram that is part of the State Health Society, National Health Mission, Manipur. The programme was conducted on June 5 at Classic Grande, Imperial Hall.

It programme was conducted as a sponsorship of the ministry in collaboration with the Regional Resource Centre for Northeast states, and the United Nations Children’s Fund.

Representing the ministry, Khera stated that the central government was committed to the improvement of child survival, and within the country’s sustainable development goals.

“It is a great achievement that among northeast states, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram are having low IMR. It is a true depiction of the state’s community development,” he said.

Noting that it is a critical indicator and unique case that how north-eastern states have been able to achieve such numbers, the government of India is trying to replicate the same at different parts of the country after learning from the three states, he added.

According to the Sample Registration System (SRS) published by the office of the Registrar General, New Delhi In May 2019, Nagaland recorded the lowest infant mortality rate (IMR) in the year 2017 followed by Manipur and Mizoram. The report indicated that the IMR rate was 7 per cent in Nagaland, 12 per cent in Manipur, and 15 per cent in Mizoram.

The IMR, which is widely accepted as a crude indicator of the overall health scenario of a country or a region, is defined as the infant deaths (less than one year) per thousand live births in a given time period and for a given region.

The present level of IMR (33 infant deaths per thousand live births, for the year 2017) is about one-fourth as compared to 1971 (129 infant deaths per thousand live births). In the last ten years, IMR has witnessed a decline of about 36.7% in rural areas and about 36% in urban areas.

The line chart (seen in the table) represent that the IMR, at all India level, has declined from 53 to 33 in last decade (2008-2017). The corresponding decline in rural area is 58 to 37 and for urban areas it is from 36 to 23.

Despite the decline in IMR over the last decades, one in every 30 infants die at the national level (irrespective of rural-urban), one in every 27 infants in rural areas, and one in every 43 infants in urban areas still die within one year of life. In 2017, the maximum IMR has been reported for Madhya Pradesh (47) and the minimum for Nagaland (7).