‘16 kids died every day from 2008 to 2012’

Times of India: Mumbai: Saturday, 01 August 2015.

In a shocking revelation by the state government, Mumbai has witnessed deaths of 16 children every day between 2008 and 2012.

In his written reply during question hour in the assembly, health minister Deepak Sawant said around 16 child deaths were registered during the period. According to Sawant, these deaths were occurring due to non-availability of proper medication at a proper time. He said in Mumbai alone, 32,664 child deaths were registered between 2008 and 2012.

An RTI by Chetan Kothari had revealed four SoBo wards alone had an infant mortality rate (IMR) worse than the national average.

The RTI details on infant births and deaths for Mumbai between April last year and March this year have shown that wards C, G, E and M have fared the worst when it comes to newborns. In simple terms, there were 216 deaths in the area for 253 births. The overall city's IMR has fallen to 28 from 29.5 in 2011, 33.5 in 2009 and 35 in 2005.