Surging IMR
But India is facing a really big problem. The IMR (Infant Mortality Rate) is increasing in India. These deaths are not caused due to the careless behavior of mothers who carried them for 9 months. The government is to be blamed for this, for not taking effective actions against it.
There are hundreds and thousands of mothers-to-be who don’t come from a well-off background. They can’t afford the high-end treatments provided by private hospitals when a complication occurs. They have to approach the government hospitals but are they really effective enough to save a life that can be saved?
I wouldn’t raise my allegations against them without rock-solid proof but isn’t it obvious? Still, this scenario isn’t seen throughout India I must say. There are government hospitals where the employees are dedicated enough to save lives. But it's still not helping to bring the IMR down.
States like Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Assam, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh are the worst-hit places. Lately, Mumbai and Gujarat have also entered this list. Nearly 1,975 infants die every day, that is, 1,975 mothers need to go through the pain of losing a child; 1,975 families will lose a child in their house. But why is it happening?
Reasons
There are many options to choose from to answer that question.
The ones that top the list I would say are lack of appropriate facilities at primary facilities, delay in referring the patients, lack of transportation, poor quality of health infrastructure, antenatal care, maternal health, postnatal care, malnutrition, sanitization and immunization, the list goes on.
India has a population of around 1.3 billion people of which 5% (6.5 Lakh people) are suffering from extreme poverty. This is just the number of the extremely poor population. Around 84 million people are still in the poverty line in India. Even though the poverty level in India has come down but the conditions are still as it is.
There are many negligent people in the system as well.
India has a population of around 1.3 billion people of which 5% (6.5 Lakh people) are suffering from extreme poverty. This is just the number of the extremely poor population. Around 84 million people are still in the poverty line in India. Even though the poverty level in India has come down but the conditions are still as it is.
There are many negligent people in the system as well.
A pediatrician and executive director of non-profit MAMTA that works on maternal and child health care said, “This (infant death) is not a Kota problem.” “There are structural issues like lack of appropriate facility at primary centers, delays in referring patients [to specialists] and lack of transportation which lead to high infant deaths.”
India is facing these problems and to date, no effective actions have been taken.
India is facing these problems and to date, no effective actions have been taken.
Why? I don’t have any explanation for that but I could say that more effective action needs to be taken because we are talking about lives here. And who knows one of these babies was supposed to be the next Nikon Tesla or Mother Teresa. Every single life matters.
If we start stating down all the facts regarding this, it's saddening. In the year 2018, there were 721,000 infant deaths reported (there may be more unaccounted deaths as well). Thinking about what those mothers or fathers will be going through is heartbreaking.
We as the citizens, also need to step up our game and take onus. We need to find ways to help them. Bring down the IMR and to bring happiness to many families. These mothers should get the health care they deserve and we should help them. One act of kindness goes a long way.
Not all the states are in this condition though. Nagaland, Mizoram, Goa, Kerala, and Sikkim are the top 5 states with the least IMR in India. These states are putting efforts to improve and reduce their IMR and the results show that.
This year, 2020, has come with many challenges and we all are facing it bravely. In the coming years as well, we could aim to make our country healthier and build an improved medical system. After achieving this milestone, we could go ahead and help other countries as well.
Just the way this pandemic has brought many people closer, why not continue it and make our world a much healthier and better place. After all, it's our home and we are the ones who need to take care of it. A small kind gesture is more than enough, but we have to make that gesture.
“With one kind gesture you can change a life.
One person at a time you can change the world.
One day at a time we can change everything.”
- Dr. Steve Maraboli
If we start stating down all the facts regarding this, it's saddening. In the year 2018, there were 721,000 infant deaths reported (there may be more unaccounted deaths as well). Thinking about what those mothers or fathers will be going through is heartbreaking.
We as the citizens, also need to step up our game and take onus. We need to find ways to help them. Bring down the IMR and to bring happiness to many families. These mothers should get the health care they deserve and we should help them. One act of kindness goes a long way.
Not all the states are in this condition though. Nagaland, Mizoram, Goa, Kerala, and Sikkim are the top 5 states with the least IMR in India. These states are putting efforts to improve and reduce their IMR and the results show that.
This year, 2020, has come with many challenges and we all are facing it bravely. In the coming years as well, we could aim to make our country healthier and build an improved medical system. After achieving this milestone, we could go ahead and help other countries as well.
Just the way this pandemic has brought many people closer, why not continue it and make our world a much healthier and better place. After all, it's our home and we are the ones who need to take care of it. A small kind gesture is more than enough, but we have to make that gesture.
“With one kind gesture you can change a life.
One person at a time you can change the world.
One day at a time we can change everything.”
- Dr. Steve Maraboli
Written by - Farheen Firoz
Edited by - Rudransh Khurana
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