India sees 1 Maternal Death Every 10 Minutes

Bangalore: With one maternal death reported every 10 minutes, India is likely to miss the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) related to maternal health, as per the latest UN report. India recorded around 57,000 maternal deaths in 2010, which translate into a whopping six every hour and one every 10 minutes, UN data in this regard says. The current Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) of India is 212 per one lakh live births, whereas the country's MDG in this respect is 109 per one lakh live births by 2015.

The MMR challenge for India was highlighted at the launch of the Millennium Development Goals Report of the UN Secretary General. The 2012 report, which assesses the regional progress on eight MDGs the world promised to meet, states that although progress has been made on improvements in maternal health, actual targets remain far from sight.

The 8 Millennium Development Goals were: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, achieve universal primary education, promote gender equality and empower women, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, combat HIV/ AIDS, malaria and other diseases, ensure environmental sustainability and develop a global partnership for development.

"India is moving well on MMR. We have made progress in this regard. The MMR recorded a 38 per cent decline in maternal deaths between 1999 and 2009. There has been progress but we are not there just yet. The Government needs to ensure the availability of Auxiliary Nurses and Midwives closer to the homes of women who are delivering", Frederika Meijer, India Representative for United Nations Population Fund said.

Meijer said almost 150 women were dying daily in India, as per 2010 data on maternal deaths. "This means one woman is dying every minute. The Government must work to address the issue of unmet need for contraception of women. They need to be counseled to space their children better," Meijer said.

(With PTI inputs)