1.2 lakh fewer deaths in under-5 category in 2016 

1.2 lakh fewer deaths in under-5 category in 2016 

Context

Figures from the Sample Registration Survey (SRS)

Findings

• Sharpest decline in U5 mortality rate: India has posted its sharpest, year-on-year decline in the under-5 infant mortality rate (u5) since 2010. The u5, at 39 deaths per 1,000 live births, recorded a 5-point decline from the 2015 figure of 43
  • Implication: It translates to nearly 1,20,000 fewer deaths in 2016 as compared to 2015
  • Variations:At the national level, the u5 varies from 43 in rural areas to 25 in urban areas and ranges from 11 in Kerala to 55 in Madhya Pradesh. Except Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, all the “bigger States/Union Territories” have higher u-5mortality rates among girls than boys
  • In Kerala the number of children dying between 1 and 5 years is very low, at just one per 1,000 live births
  • Maharashtra too has recorded a dip. From 23 in 2014 and 24 in 2015, the State has gone down to 21 deaths per 1,000 children in the age group of 1 to 5 years in 2016
• One in every 29 infants nationally, one in every 26 infants in rural areas and one in every 43 infants in urban areas continues to die within the first year of their lives. Moreover, the sex ratio at birth —the SRS found — continued a steady decline that began in 2013 with only 898 girls for every 1,000 boys in 2016 compared to 909 girls for 1,000 boys in 2013

SRS Data

The latest round of data builds on the SRS numbers made public last September that showed India had registered a significant 8% (3 point) decline in infant deaths per 1,000 live births (IMR) over the previous year. The IMR refers to death in infants who were yet to turn one. The decline from 37 to 34 per 1,000 live births translated to 90,000 fewer infant deaths in 2016 compared to 2015