Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu attain U.N. Sustainable Development Goals in MMR, U5MR, NMR, says report
Three States in India — Kerala, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu — have attained the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets in Maternal Mortality Rate or MMR (<=70 by 2030); Under-Five Mortality Rate or U5MR (<=25 by 2030); and Neonatal Mortality Rate or NMR (<=12 by 2030), according to the Sample Registration System Report 2021 released by the Registrar General of India earlier this week.
According to the report, eight States have already attained the MMR SDG target, including Kerala (20), Maharashtra (38), Telangana (45), Andhra Pradesh (46), Tamil Nadu (49), Jharkhand (51), Gujarat (53), and Karnataka (63).
Twelve States/Union Territories have already attained the U5MR SDG target — Kerala (eight), Delhi (14), Tamil Nadu (14), Jammu & Kashmir (16), Maharashtra (16), West Bengal (20), Karnataka (21), Punjab (22), Telangana (22), Himachal Pradesh (23), Andhra Pradesh (24), and Gujarat (24).
Also Read | India's latest Maternal Mortality Ratio shows a declining trend
Six States/Union Territories have already attained the NMR SDG target — Kerala (four), Delhi (eight), Tamil Nadu (nine), Maharashtra (11), Jammu & Kashmir (12), and Himachal Pradesh (12).
India has continued to see significant improvement in key maternal and child health indicators, the report said.
A special bulletin on MMR in India in 2019-21, based on data from the Sample Registration System, found India's MMR had shown a marked reduction, declining by 37 points from 130 per lakh live births in 2014-16 to 93 in 2019-21.
The downward trend in child mortality indicators also continues.
India's Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) declined from 39 per 1,000 live births in 2014 to 27 per 1,000 live births in 2021. The NMR declined from 26 per 1,000 live births in 2014 to 19 per 1,000 live births in 2021. The U5MR declined from 45 per 1,000 live births in 2014 to 31 per 1,000 live births in 2021.
The Sex Ratio at Birth improved from 899 in 2014 to 913 in 2021. The Total Fertility Rate has remained consistent at 2.0 in 2021, a significant improvement from 2.3 in 2014.
'India's progress in the reduction of maternal and child mortality indicators outpaces global averages,'' a senior Union Health Ministry official said.
According to the current UN Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-agency Group Report 2000-2023, published on April 7, India's MMR fell by 23 points from 2020 to 2023, the official said. With this achievement, India's MMR has declined by 86% when compared with global reduction of 48% over the past 33 years (1990 to 2023), he said.
'India is among the top performing countries with reduction in Child Mortality Rates. As per the [Sample Registration System] report, India achieved a 78% decline in the U5MR surpassing the global reduction of 61%, 70% decline in the NMR compared to 54% globally, and 71% decline in the IMR compared to 58% globally, over the past 33 years from 1990 to 2023,'' a release issued by the Health Ministry on Saturday said.
Health data systems are being reinforced and real-time surveillance for maternal, newborn, and child health carried out through digital platforms, thereby facilitating data-driven, evidence-based policy decisions, the Ministry said.
'Focused interventions ensure that every pregnant woman is entitled to free institutional delivery, including caesarean sections, along with complimentary transport, medication, diagnostics, and nutrition support in public health facilities. Key clinical practices such as the administration of antenatal corticosteroids for preterm labour, use of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP), and structured follow-up for hearing and vision screening contribute to improved newborn survival outcomes. These measures support approximately 300 lakh safe pregnancies and 260 lakh healthy live births annually,'' the Health Ministry said in its statement.
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