The
Asian Age: Mumbai: Sunday, 26 April 2015.
Some 1,05,735
infants have died in the state between 2008 and 2012, according to a recent
Right to Information (RTI) report furnished by the state public health
department. The city, despite having the best facilities for infant care, tops
the list of mortality in the state, and is followed by Nashik, Thane, Pune
Aurangabad and Nagpur.
The infant
deaths in Mumbai in one year can be equated with the deaths occurring in other
cities in a five-year period. Mumbai registered 29,700 infant deaths from 2008
to 2012, while Nashik recorded 8,517 deaths, followed by Thane with 8,167
deaths, Pune with 5,915 and Aurangabad with 3,100 infant deaths. On an average,
some 5,500 to 6,000 infants lose their lives in the city every year, which is
an alarming 16 infant deaths everyday. Other cities have reported 500 to 900
deaths each year.
The details
from the municipal corporation and the public health department were furnished
by RTI activist Chetan Kothari and the information was provided by Dr Santosh
K, Revankar, public information officer. The cities mentioned had the highest
rate of deaths in 2008, while it had declined comparatively between 2009 and
2011, rising again in 2012. Pune, for example, had registered 1,822 infant
deaths in 2008, which decreased to 913 deaths in 2011.
The data also
highlighted that more male infants were dying in the state. Doctors see
inadequate intensive care unit facilities across the state and lack of
awareness as the reasons for behind the deaths. Dr Bhupendra Avasthi, a
paediatrician who has worked in Sion Hospital for 25 years, said, “The problem
(of deaths) has been constant all these years.
The revenue
allotted by government for paediatric care is minimal. Most of them either
contract infections or suffer asphyxia. We have zero facilities to reduce
this.”Dr Anant Phadke of the Jan Arogya Abhiyan, said that extreme poverty,
hunger, marriage at a young age and low education had led to the spike in
problems.
The state
health department however said new programmes were helping to contain infant
deaths. “With the help of workers we were able to create awareness and transfer
better medical care through our home-based and facility-based unit,” said Dr
Chandrakala Jaiswal, a member of Unicef for the state health department.
National New
Born Action Plan, a new scheme introduced by the health department, provides
the necessary interventions required for infant care.
.JPG)
.JPG)
