Reducing the infant mortality rate of India to 20 by 2020: together we can do.

Abstract

Over the years, India has attained impressive achievements in child survival. A fast decline in Infant mortality rate (IMR) of country has been observed in recent past. The IMR has dropped by an average rate of 4.56% per year over last five years [1]. However, at the current pace, the country will miss the target to achieve the fourth Millennium Development Goal (MDG-4), which aims to reduce under-five mortality rate and IMR by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015. Currently, almost all countries of the South East Asia Region have lower IMR than that of India [2]. Though sixty years ago, India and China had almost the same IMR, the current IMR in China is just one-fourth of India’s IMR. China has reduced its IMR by 75% as compared to that of 1990, while India could reduce it only by 53% [2]. Within India, there exists a large variation in the current rates and percentage reduction in the IMR [1]. In India, the overall decline in child mortality was largely hindered by subdued progress in the area of neonatal deaths, especially within the first week of birth. Averting neonatal deaths is pivotal in reducing child mortality. Three major causes contribute to about 75 per cent of all deaths in the new born period: prematurity, birth asphyxia and infections [3].