“Levels and Trends in Child Mortality” report by United States Organization

The child mortality rate of India has declined between 1990 and 2019

• The United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (IGME)
  External link released the latest estimates for child mortality
• It was jointly developed by UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO) the
  Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social
  Affairs (UN DESA) and the World Bank Group
• The child mortality rate of India has declined between 1990 and 2019. It was
  126 in 1990 and has now declined to 34 in 2019

Key findings of the report

• A UNICEF survey conducted over the summer across 77 countries found that
  almost 68 per cent of countries reported at least some disruption in health
  checks for children and immunization services
• In addition, 63 per cent of countries reported disruptions in antenatal checkups
  and 59 per cent in post-natal care
• A recent WHO survey based on responses from 105 countries revealed that 52
  per cent of countries reported disruptions in health services for sick children
  and 51 per cent in services for management of malnutrition
• The report documents remarkable progress in child survival over the past three
  decades
• The global number of deaths among children under the age of five dropped from
  12.5 million in 1990 to 5.2 million in 2019, the lowest level on record
• However, the report reminds us that we are still far from ending preventable
  deaths of newborns and children under five years of age in conformity with
  Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.2
• If current trends continue, 53 countries will not be able to meet the under-five
  mortality SDG target (at least as low as 25 deaths per 1,000 live births)
• More than 60 countries are falling behind in achieving the neonatal mortality
  target (at least as low as 12 deaths per 1,000 live births) by 2030
• Further, the report warns that the COVID-19 pandemic could reverse decades
  of progress toward eliminating preventable child deaths
• It highlighted the need for urgent action to restore and improve childbirth
  services and antenatal and postnatal care for mothers and babies
• Based on the responses from countries that participated in the UNICEF and WHO
  surveys, the most commonly cited reasons for health service disruptions included
  parents avoiding health centers for fear of infection
• Afghanistan, Bolivia, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Libya, Madagascar,
  Pakistan, Sudan and Yemen are among the hardest hit countries
• There is reduction in child mortality, India along with Nigeria accounts to almost
  one-third of under five deaths in 2019
• India registered 4.5% annual rate of reduction between 1990 and 2019. The
  number of annual under-five deaths in India was 3.4 million in 1990 and it has now
  dropped to 824,000 in 2019

Key findings of Levels and Trends of Child Mortality in India

• India’s child mortality rate has declined substantially between 1990 and 2019
  but the country, along with Nigeria, still accounted for almost a third of all
  under-five deaths last year
• Over the past 30 years, health services to prevent or treat causes of child death
  such as preterm, low birth weight, complications during birth, neonatal sepsis,
  pneumonia, diarrhoea and malaria, as well as vaccination, have played a large
  role in saving millions of lives
• However, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in major disruptions to health
  services that threaten to undo decades of hard-won progress toward eliminating
  preventable child deaths
• The country registered a 4.5 per cent annual rate of reduction in under-five
  mortality between 1990-2019
• The number of under-five deaths in India dropped from 3.4 million in 1990 to
  824,000 in 2019
• The infant mortality rate (deaths per 1,000 live births) in India declined from 89
  in 1990 to 28 last year, with the country registering 679000 infant deaths last
  year, a significant decline from 2.4 million infant deaths in 1990

Pic courtesy : unicef.com