New Delhi– In a significant achievement, the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) of India has declined by 10 points, as per the special bulletin on MMR released by the Registrar General of India.
The ratio has declined from 113 in 2016-18 to 103 in 2017-19, which amounts to a decline of 8.8 per cent.
With this persistent decline, India is on the verge of achieving the National Health Policy (NHP) target of 100/lakh live births by 2020 and is on track to achieve the SDG target of 70/lakh live births by 2030.
The country has been witnessing a progressive reduction in MMR from 130 in 2014-2016, 122 in 2015-17, 113 in 2016-18, and to 103 in 2017-19.
The number of states which have achieved the sustainable development goal (SDG) target has now risen from five to seven, which includes Kerala (30), Maharashtra (38), Telangana (56), Tamil Nadu (58), Andhra Pradesh (58), Jharkhand (61), and Gujarat (70).
There are now nine states that have achieved the target of MMR set by the NHP, which include the above seven states and the states of Karnataka (83) and Haryana (96).
Five states — Uttarakhand (101), West Bengal (109), Punjab (114), Bihar (130), Odisha (136) and Rajasthan (141) — have MMR in between 100 and 150, while four states, namely Chhattisgarh (160), Madhya Pradesh (163), Uttar Pradesh (167) and Assam (205), have MMR above 150.
The special bulletin on MMR said that encouraging achievement has been reported by Uttar Pradesh, which has shown the maximum decline of 30 points, Rajasthan 23 points, Bihar 19 points, Punjab 15 points and Odisha 14 points.
However, three states — Kerala, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh — have shown more than 15 per cent decline in MMR, while six states — Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Bihar, Punjab, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh — have shown a decline of 10-15 per cent.
Four states — Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha and Karnataka — witnessed a decline of 5-10 per cent. On the contrary, four states — West Bengal, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh — have shown an increase in MMR. (IANS)
