Challenges in the reduction of infant mortality in India: have we reached a plateau

Abstract

The infant mortality rate is one of the major indicators of a country’s overall health and development. From time to time, many new initiatives were launched by the government of India to bring down the IMR of the country. Many of the initiatives launched in the early phases were able to substantially reduce the IMR to 26/100 live births by 2023. However, the decline has not been uniform and the IMR seems to have reached a plateau. Beyond this it will need some major changes at the health policy level to bring the IMR to a level which is compatible with the developed countries. This article attempts to highlight the trajectory of India towards reduction of Infant mortality, the various initiatives launched from time to time and the challenges in bringing it down further from the present plateau stage.