Child Mortality In India

Health Services in India have played a major role in saving millions of lives in the past thirty years.

Even though India accounted for almost a third of all under-five deaths last year along with Nigeria but there still has been seen a substantial decline in the child mortality rate. India saw a substantial decline in child mortality rate between 1990 and 2019. Health services to prevent or treat causes of child death such as preterm, low birth weight, complications during birth, as well as vaccination, have played a large role in saving millions of lives in the last 30 years. A pattern of considerable improvement in vaccination coverage among age 12-23 months has also been seen. But with decline in Mortality rate, an increase in malnutrition has been noted. Almost 16 Indian states have recorded an increase in underweight under 5 children among 22 states.

Following are a few causes of child mortality in developing nations-

1. Pneumonia: Pneumonia, killing around 15% of children, occurs when the air sacs in the lungs, the alveoli, are filled with fluid and pus. It can be seen more in malnourished children due to less availability of nutritious food. Those with underlying illnesses such as HIV are also more prone to pneumonia. Also, only one third of the children infected with pneumonia get the antibiotics necessary to cure them. Even though Pneumonia is very much prevalent in India but still the estimated number of pneumonia and severe pneumonia cases among children younger than 5 years in India decreased between 2000 and 2015. The possible reasons could be improvements in socioeconomic indicators and specific government initiatives that contributed to decrease the prevalence of pneumonia risk factors.

2. Diarrhoea: Caused by unclean drinking water and contaminated food, diarrhoea is more prevalent in undernourished children. It leads to severe dehydration and even death if not treated on time.The death rate of Indian children due to diarrhoea has gone down by 52% but the prevalence of diarrhoea still remains high at 9.2%. It has happened because of improved treatment with increased diet and fluid intake.

Furthermore, increased access to healthcare facilities and prenatal visits can help in decreasing child mortality rate all over the world. More work needs to be done in terms of vaccinations, adequate nutrition, awareness and education.