India to host global meet on maternal, child health in December: UNICEF - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

India to host global meet on maternal, child health in December: UNICEF

The UNICEF said on Saturday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Chile President Michelle Bachelet and chair of PMNCH will deliver the keynote addresses.

India would be the global host for a meet of stakeholders from nearly 100 countries on issues related to maternal and child health, the UNICEF has said.
The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health forum will emphasise the importance of people-centred accountability bringing forward the voices and lived realities of women, children and adolescents through innovative programming and creative projects. The forum will be hosted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in collaboration with the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH) this December.
The UNICEF said on Saturday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Chile President Michelle Bachelet and chair of PMNCH will deliver the keynote addresses.
Gagan Gupta, the Chief of Health at the UNICEF, told PTI that India has made significant progress in improving maternal health and reducing child mortality.
“India has performed better than rest of world in this field and the number of under-five children dying has fallen by 30 per cent since 2012, from 1.4 million to 9,89,000,” he said.
According to a new report by the United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, under-five mortality rate in India was recorded below one million in 2017 for the first time in five years.
Mr. Gupta said the forum to be held on December 12 and 13 at Vigyan Bhawan will see participation from heads of State, ministers, popular champions, and 1,200 partners from nearly 100 countries.
“India will get an opportunity to present its success story in improving its maternal and child health at a world stage,” he said. Moreover, the forum would also bring various stakeholders on a common stage to share their ideas, he said.
This is the second time India is hosting the forum ― the first was in 2010.
Previous chapters of the forum have been held in Johannesburg in South Africa in 2014 and Dar es Salam in Tanzania in 2007.(Source: The Hindu)

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India to host global meet on maternal, child health in December: UNICEF

Maternal mortality, infant mortality rates sharply decline during last 3 years - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Maternal mortality, infant mortality rates sharply decline during last 3 years.

The maternal mortality and the infant mortality rates in the country have sharply declined during the last three years. The maternal mortality rate has come down from 167 per lakh births between 2011 and 2013 to 130 between 2014 and 2016.

Replying to supplementaries during Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha today, Health and Family Welfare Minister JP Nadda said infant mortality rate has also come down from 160 to 130 per one lakh births during the same period.
Attributing the decline to the health schemes including Janani Suraksha Yojana, the Minister said the decline is faster than global rates. He said by the year 2025, the maternal mortality rate is likely to come down to 70 per one lakh.
Referring to another supplementary on Ayushman Bharat scheme, the Health Minister said the Centre has signed Memorandum of Understanding with 26 states to implement the scheme. (Source: News on Air)


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Maternal mortality, infant mortality rates sharply decline during last 3 years.

India records 22% reduction in maternal mortality ratio since 2013 - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

India records 22% reduction in maternal mortality ratio since 2013.

India has registered a significant decline in Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) recording a 22-per cent reduction in such deaths since 2013, according to the Sample Registration System (SRS) bulletin released today.

The MMR has declined from 167 in 2011-2013 to 130 in 2014-2016, according to the special bulletin.
MMR is defined as the proportion of maternal deaths per 1,00,000 live births.
The decline has been most significant in Empowered Action Group (EAG) states -- from 246 to 188, it said.
The Special Bulletin of Maternal Mortality in India stated that among the southern states, the decline has been from 93 to 77 and in "other" states from 115 to 93.
"The latest SRS figures reveal that we have gone beyond the MDG target of Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) of 139 by 2015 & have reached 130!! I congratulate the Ministry, @MoHFW_India and the states for their joint efforts," Union Health Minister J P Nadda said on Twitter.
According to the SRS Bulletin, there were nearly 12,000 fewer maternal deaths in 2016 as compared to 2013, with the total number of maternal deaths for the first time reducing to 32,000, according to a Health Ministry statement.
This means that every day 30 more pregnant women are now being saved in India as compared to 2013.
Amongst the states, Uttar Pradesh with 30 per cent decline has topped the chart in the reduction of maternal deaths. Three states have already met the SDG target for MMR of 70 per 1,00,000.
These are Kerala, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, while Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are within striking distance.
"The results signify that the strategic approach of the Ministry has started yielding dividends and the efforts of focusing on low performing states is paying off, especially initiatives like Mission Indradhanush and Intensified Mission Indradhanush with their focused approach are significantly turning the tide in favour of India," the statement stated.
Other major initiatives under the umbrella of National Health Mission (NHM) like augmentation of infrastructure and human resource, capacity building, Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram which provides for free transport and care for pregnant women have also contributed to the success, it said.
To understand the maternal mortality situation in the country better and to map the changes that have taken place, especially at the regional level, the government has categorised states into three groups -- EAG, southern states and "other" states.
EAG states comprise Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, and Assam.
The southern states are Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu and the "other" states categories cover the remaining states and Union territories.
The first report on maternal mortality in India (1997-2003), describing trends, causes and risk factors, was released in October, 2006.
The present bulletin, which provides only the levels of maternal mortality for the period 2014-16, is being brought out as a sequel to the previous bulletin (2011-13).
The survey for the current bulletin covered 62,96,101 pregnant women, of whom 556 died. (Source: India Today)


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India records 22% reduction in maternal mortality ratio since 2013.