Children's Day special: Child health indices stagnant in state

Thiruvananthapuram: Some celebrations call for a re-assessment as well. As another Children's Day was celebrated on Saturday, it will be worthwhile to note that many indicators of child health in the state are stagnant for over a decade.
For instance, the infant mortality rate (IMR) of children aged below one per 1,000 live births is 12 now but it was 11 in 2001.Similarly, underweight children aged below five were 22.1% in 1992-93 as against 18.5% in 2013-14.
And this is happening despite many schemes implemented by various state government departments like social justice, health and family welfare. Institutional deliveries in Kerala were reported at 99.4% in the 2013-14 rapid survey of children (RSOC) by the Union government as against 88.9% in the 1992-93 national family health survey (NFHS). Babies dying before 28 days or the neonatal mortality (NMR) in the state are six per 1,000 live births in 2013 as against 10 in 2001.
"Though Kerala is far ahead in many social indices like literacy, indicators such as IMR, NMR, weight and anaemia among children continue to be stagnant in the state for nearly two decades," Job Zachariah, chief of Unicef field office for Tamil Nadu & Kerala, said. He said anaemic children in Kerala stood at 48.5% according as per a 2012-13 survey as against 43.9% in 1998-99. Similarly, children aged 6-35 months exclusively breastfed for the first six months stood at 20.9% as against 22.7% in 2002.
Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) national president Dr S S Kamat said there were many factors leading to the stagnant IMR rate. "It is easy to bring down the IMR till 15 but it is tough beyond that as various socio-economic aspects compound the issue. The health indicator in each district varies from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod," he said.
Congenital abnormalities had led to low survival rate at birth earlier but it has improved now with medical care. However, their survival may not be more than 28 weeks despite all the neonatal care and this leads to an increase in NMR, which ultimately reflects in a higher IMR , he said.
Kamath, however, added that the IMR and the NMR form part of a sample survey and they need not be an exact calculation of child deaths. "We are striving to bring the IMR to a single digit in Kerala, and the state government will soon come up with a white paper in association with its various departments," he said.
Social justice minister M K Muneer said efforts were on to bring down the IMR rate in Attapadi to eight and eventually to zero. "The Janani-Jatak software monitors the condition of infants and mothers in Attapadi and it will be extended to Wayanad soon."