64 Percent Newborns Die Within the First 4 Weeks In Delhi: Report

BANGALORE: India’s capital city, New Delhi, with the rate of 30 deaths per 1,000 births has an alarmingly high Infant Mortality Rate as compared to the other metropolitan cities, reports The Hindu.

According to the latest report released by the NGO Save the Children in Delhi, of all the children dying before their first birthday, an extensive 64 percent die within the first 4 weeks of their birth. On the other hand, metros like Chennai recorded the least IMR of 15 per 1,000 live births followed by Mumbai and Kolkata with 20 per 1,000 live births.

The report further stated that though IMR has decreased to 25 per 1,000 live births in the past months, the case of it has not improved much in the country. So, such deaths can be avoided if the country is equipped with better access to health care, the presence of qualified frontline health workers and by giving essential number of skilled, building community mechanisms for monitoring and a stronger health system.

Thomas Chandy, CEO ‘Save the Children’ said, “Our report reveals the true scale of the newborn crisis. Without targeted action now, progress made in cutting child mortality will stall. If we can eradicate polio, we can also ensure that a child does not die due to preventable reasons.’’

Regarding Delhi, 50 percent of its children still live in slums and 14.71 percent of its population is below poverty line. As such, incidences of infant death are almost three times higher in this city.

Anuradha Gupta, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said, “India has made a lot of progress in terms of child survival. But we need to ensure that every child is saved. If we want to achieve MDG -4 by 2015, we have to focus on ensuring survival on the first day of birth.”

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