Institutional deliveries helped in decreasing child mortality rate in U’khand: Rawat

PIONEEREDGE NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun

Health minister Dhan Singh Rawat has claimed that the infant mortality rate in Uttarakhand has declined substantially due to special focus of the State on the institutional deliveries.

The minister said the data released by the registrar general of India for year 2022 shows that the neonatal mortality rate in Uttarakhand is 15 per thousand live births while the infant mortality rate is 21 per thousand births.

The mortality rate of the children below five years of age in Uttarakhand is 25 per thousand. The minister said the data shows that the child mortality rate in Uttarakhand has decreased substantially. He said that strengthening of the health infrastructure and work done on the ground by the Health department reflects in the above mentioned data.

Rawat said that the institutional deliveries are being promoted in the State and special campaigns for 100 per cent immunisation of pregnant women are being undertaken. He said the pregnant women are being transported to the hospitals by schemes such as Khushiyon ki Sawari. 

The minister added that the scope of services in the health centres on infant care was increased which included setting up of four neonatal intensive care units, nine special new-born care units, 34 new-born stabilisation units, 289 infant care corners and 47 Kangaroo mother care units.  A total of 4,643 infants were successfully treated in the NICU and Special new-born care units.

  He added that children aged between six to 59 months were given doses of iron and folic acid in the State. Pink tablets of iron, folic acid were given to children between five to nine years of age. Under the stop diarrhoea campaign ORS and zinc coverage was done of the children up to five years of age.

 The minister said that the Asha workers played a key role in the endeavour of reducing the child mortality rate in the State and due to their efforts an improvement in the care of pregnant and new born babies has occurred in the State.