37% dip in infant deaths, Gurgaon fares better than Delhi

Gurgaon: The city has witnessed about a 36.8% decline in the infant mortality rate (IMR) in the past year, according to official figures accessed by this correspondent on Friday. The mortality rate, which is better than that in Delhi, is attributed to public health intervention programmes by government health authorities and advanced technology in private hospitals.
The IMR was recorded at 19 per 1,000 population in 2014-15, while in 2015-16 it came down to 12 per 1,000 population. As compared to this, only a marginal decline was seen in the rate from 2013-14 to 2014-15.
Surprisingly, the infant mortality rate of the city has now become better than that in the national capital. According to data released in the "Registration of Births and Deaths in Delhi-2014" by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics, the IMR was close to 20 per 1,000 population. The data for the year 2015 is, however, awaited.
Also, the decline in Gurgaon is the highest in Haryana. While Mewat and Palwal recorded a 31% dip in IMR, Faridabad, Narnaul and Rewari saw 25%, 25% and 20% decrease, respectively.
Doctors in the private and government health sectors credited each other for bringing down IMR. Chief medical officer Ramesh Dhankar said, "In the past one year, we have been working on various immunisation programmes that helped in bringing down IMR. We are working on a programme to identify high-risk pregnancies and provide a dedicated team of doctors and nurses to those expecting mothers. Gurgaon also has a very good natal care unit in Civil Hospital and even in primary healthcare centres. Besides, role of private healthcare units in Gurgaon can't be undermined."
Dr T J Antony, director and head of department, Neonatology and NICU (neonatal intensive-care unit) at Fortis, said, "I think public health intervention programmes run by the government have been extremely helpful. Immunisation programmes and natal units in government hospital, in particular, have played a major role."