Maternal Mortality Ratio of India declines by 10 points

What is the News?

The Registrar General of India has released a “Special Bulletin on Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) of India”.

What are the key findings on the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) of India?

India’s maternal Mortality Ratio(MMR) has declined by 10 points. It has declined from 113 in 2016-18 to 103 in 2017-19 (8.8 % decline). 

India witnessed a progressive reduction in the MMR from 130 in 2014-2016, 122 in 2015-17, 113 in 2016-18, and 103 in 2017-19.

With this persistent decline, India is close to achieving the National Health Policy (NHP) target of 100/lakh live births by 2020.

India is also on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target of 70/ lakh live births by 2030. 

State-wise MMR

Among States, Kerala has recorded the lowest Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) of 30 in the country.

The number of states which have achieved the MMR SDG target has now risen from 5 to 7 viz. Kerala (30), Maharashtra (38), Telangana (56), Tamil Nadu (58), Andhra Pradesh (58), Jharkhand (61) and Gujarat (70). 

There are now nine (9) States that have achieved the target of MMR set by the NHP, which include the above 7 and the States of Karnataka (83) and Haryana (96).

Uttarakhand (101), West Bengal (109), Punjab (114), Bihar (130), Odisha (136) and Rajasthan (141) — have MMR between 100-150. 

Chhattisgarh (160), Madhya Pradesh (163), Uttar Pradesh (167) and Assam (205) have an MMR above 150.

The States of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar have seen the most drop in MMR.  West Bengal, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh have recorded an increase in MMR over the last survey.

Source: This post is based on the article “Maternal Mortality Ratio of India declines by 10 points” published in The Hindu on 15th Mar 2022.