India Needs to Buck up its Child Health Care

Bangalore: India is showing positive progress in reducing child mortality with new policies and better programs. However, averting the deaths of millions of children remains a colossal challenge for the country. Approximately, 1.7 million children under the age of five die each year in India, according to Unicef. The number represents over a fifth of all child deaths, globally. Most of these deaths can be warded off as they occur from complications during birth, diarrhea, pneumonia and malnutrition, as reported by John Butler for the Wall Street Journal.

Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad stated India’s commitment to work to ensure that no child dies of preventable causes. The initiative to improve child health got a nudge from the launch of a program under the Health Ministry by Congress party President Sonia Gandhi. The program is aimed to provide comprehensive care to 270 million children each year.

The Child Health Screening and Early Intervention Services program is aimed to diminish child morality and enhance the overall quality of life of children. As mentioned by specialists that early detection and treatment of infants would greatly increase their survival chances even with birth defects, health deficiencies and other diseases.

Also Read: India to Fail UN Goals for Poverty, Infant Mortality