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NEW DELHI: India has set itself a challenging target to reduce maternal mortality rate to 70 per 1000 live births, and for neonatal and under-five to 12 and 25 per 1,000 births respectively under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved over the next 15 years.
READ ALSO: Centre to come up with national development goals
The consensus over the new targets was achieved within the government in a recent meeting of the health ministry and other concerned departments, an official source said.
India will present the new targets, which will replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), in the upcoming United Nations General Assembly session scheduled next month.
India's infant mortality rate (IMR) is currently 40 per 1000 live births as against the target set by MDG of 27 by 2015 end. Under-5 mortality rate is 49 compared to the MDG target of 42. The maternal mortality rate is 167 per 1,00,000 births as against the MDG goal of 109 by the end of 2015.
Though India has made substantial progress in reducing infant and maternal mortality rate over the last two decades, it continues to lag Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. The child immunization rate and total life expectancy of India is also lower than these countries.
However, of late, the government has ramped up health services, including the immunization drive to address the problem. Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and health minister J P Nadda also emphasized the need to provide equitable health services to cater to marginalized and backward areas where the maternal and neonatal mortality rate is high often due to lack of institutionalized delivery system. The National Health Mission's Janani Suraksha Yojana is aimed at ensuring that 75% of deliveries take place in healthcare centres.
Experts say there is still a lot that needs to be taken care of. For instance, the government needs to expand the basket of choice for family planning, which has the potential to save lives. However, the government is hopeful that if the current trend of annual decline is sustained then India is likely to reach close to achieving the MDG target.
READ ALSO: Centre to come up with national development goals
The consensus over the new targets was achieved within the government in a recent meeting of the health ministry and other concerned departments, an official source said.
India will present the new targets, which will replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), in the upcoming United Nations General Assembly session scheduled next month.
India's infant mortality rate (IMR) is currently 40 per 1000 live births as against the target set by MDG of 27 by 2015 end. Under-5 mortality rate is 49 compared to the MDG target of 42. The maternal mortality rate is 167 per 1,00,000 births as against the MDG goal of 109 by the end of 2015.
Though India has made substantial progress in reducing infant and maternal mortality rate over the last two decades, it continues to lag Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. The child immunization rate and total life expectancy of India is also lower than these countries.
However, of late, the government has ramped up health services, including the immunization drive to address the problem. Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and health minister J P Nadda also emphasized the need to provide equitable health services to cater to marginalized and backward areas where the maternal and neonatal mortality rate is high often due to lack of institutionalized delivery system. The National Health Mission's Janani Suraksha Yojana is aimed at ensuring that 75% of deliveries take place in healthcare centres.
Experts say there is still a lot that needs to be taken care of. For instance, the government needs to expand the basket of choice for family planning, which has the potential to save lives. However, the government is hopeful that if the current trend of annual decline is sustained then India is likely to reach close to achieving the MDG target.
