Highest number of new born deaths in India...!!!

India records highest number of new born deaths, says a recently released World Health Organization (WHO) report

More new born babies die in India every year than in any other country, despite the number of neonatal deaths around the world witnessing a steady decline, a new study by the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said.

New born deaths decreased from 4.6 million in 1990 to 3.3 million in 2009, and fell slightly faster in the years since 2000, according to the study led by researchers from WHO, Save the Children and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

The study, which covers a two-decade-period and all the 193 WHO member states, found that new born deaths - characterised as deaths in the first four weeks of life (neonatal period) – account for 41 % of all child deaths before the age of five.

Almost 99 per cent of the newborn deaths occur in the developing world, with more than half taking place in the five large countries of India, Nigeria, Pakistan, China and Congo.

"India alone has more than 900,000 newborn deaths per year, nearly 28 % of the global total," WHO said, adding that India had the largest number of neonatal deaths throughout the study.

Nigeria, the world's seventh most populous country, ranked second in new born deaths – up from fifth in 1990. Three quarters of neonatal deaths around the world are caused by pre-term delivery, asphyxia and severe infections, such as sepsis and pneumonia.

WHO pointed out that two thirds or more of these deaths can be prevented with existing interventions.

Malnutrition: Reality behind Govt Health care services...!!!

When the Maharashtra government first recorded the figures of child deaths due to endemic malnutrition in the remote villages of Melghat, shocking numbers were revealed.

Almost two decades later, even though the government figures show a substantial drop in the number of malnutrition deaths, social activists and health-coordinators working in the impoverished area say that the authorities pass off such deaths as still-births.

The reality continues to bite with the data recorded just before monsoon this year, indicating 509 malnutrition induced deaths during past year, until March 2011. Every year, hundreds of children of Korku tribe in the tehsils of Melghat in the Satpura ranges fall prey to starvation and malnutrition. While the government records indicate figures ranging from 400-525 in the last five years, health activists working among the tribals tell a different story.

Madhukar Mane, Health Coordinator with NGO Maitri, which organises monsoon campaigns to prevent deaths in the precarious season, says: "The figures are certainly better than the late 90s but the numbers are still very high in the tehsils of Dharni and Chikhaldhara. Government records child deaths under two categories: still birth and neonatal. What happens is that they write off several deaths as still births so that the infant mortality rate (IMR) could be kept under check.

Maximum child deaths occur during monsoons as the tribals are not able to work and feed their children. Ironically, most government schemes are launched after the monsoons.

About 50 per cent families in Melghat are below poverty line with a high rate of unemployment. Weak mothers often deliver children in grade 1 malnutrition.

It almost instantly deteriorates to grade 2, and then 3 & 4. The nearest emergency health care is about 120 km away that too without a child specialist or medical equipment. About 39 children are suffering from grade 4 malnutrition while 442 fall under grade 3 here.

Jayashree Shidore, coordinating activist with Maitri, says: "Children with a sunken face and a bloated stomach is a common sight in Melghat." Maitri is helping such kids by imparting basic health education, especially to nursing mothers, and lessons in personal hygiene.

 
Malnutrition mars Gujarat's growth story: HDI Report: Despite a shining Gujarat story of high economic growth model applauded by a US Congressional report, the India Human Development Report 2011 points out that the state fares the worst in terms of overall hunger and malnutrition in the country. Taking a dig at the Gujarat model, Union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh, while releasing the report, said, "On nutrition, I am puzzled why the high rate of malnutrition continues to persist even in pockets high economic growth.

105 child malnutrition deaths from April-June in Melghat : AMRAVATI: The Melghat region of Vidarbha is presently a picture of despair and what sounds a discordant note is the cries of kid dying due of malnutrition. A total 105 infants have died between April and June 2009 in Melghat. Despite efforts by the government and non-government agencies and after spending a large amount of money, the infant deaths in this tribal region are unabated. Health department sources said that about 69 children are reported to be in stage IV of malnutrition in Chilkhaldhara and Dharni tehsils of Melghat region.

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_child-malnutrition-supriya-sule-to-visit-melghat_1604058

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-07-23/india/28197788_1_malnutrition-melghat-infant-deaths

http://in.news.yahoo.com/twelve-infants-die-kolkata-childrens-hospital-123053104.html 

Child and Maternal Health Issues in India

Since its independence, India has become a world leader in medical advancement due to its incredible medical education system and state-of-the-art private medical facilities. It is now a major provider of health services and contains some of the most highly skilled and qualified medical providers in the world. Quality health care, however, remains inaccessible for many undeveloped Indian regions. For example, in rural communities it is estimated that only 18 hospital beds are available per 100,000 people. Even when medical treatment is available, public hospitals are frequently understaffed and under supplied. The poor are forced to rely on overburdened, unsanitary facilities as their only source of health care.

Lack of national care has produced severe health issues throughout the nation: the highest prevalence of tuberculosis in the world; over 1.5 million children dead each year before their first birthday; and nearly 500 million lacking sufficient nutrition along with the second highest number of people living with HIV/AIDS. Growth of HIV/AIDS is a particular concern since there is not a secure infrastructure to measure the virus’s spread and impact, particularly with women in rural areas. While prevalence is not high, the country is extremely susceptible to a massive epidemic if left unchecked.

This lack of national healthcare infrastructure is having severe and lasting effects on the livelihoods of Indian citizens. In Rajasthan, about half the children suffer from malnutrition, 49 percent of women are anemic, and about one-third of children are born with a low birth weight. Additionally, only 14 percent of children between 12 and 23 months receive the necessary vaccinations to prevent diseases such as small pox and polio. Public hospitals have insufficient funds to support their communities, and since only 15 percent of Indian citizens have health insurance, quality health care remains unattainable for millions in dire need (Bhagat, 2004).

Thousands of public health NGOs are intervening to provide the necessary medical care, support, and treatment. In Udaipur and Jodhpur, FSD collaborates with local organizations that interview the local community to identify weaknesses in rural health care and then provide the underprivileged with the necessary supplies and medical advice. Additionally, FSD supports programs that host educational workshops to promote the importance of hygiene and sanitation, and assists healthcare centers that provide immunizations to at-risk children. FSD partner organizations are working within the communities with the greatest need to ensure that all citizens are guaranteed their basic right to continued health and physical well-being.

Indian Health Facts: Report by UNICEF

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Approximately 2 million under-5 children die in India every year (UNICEF state of the World s Children Report, 2007). This is about one-fourth of the global burden of infant and child deaths. Adding to this gloomy statistic is the status of maternal mortality in India. Over 70,000 women die in India every year due to pregnancy related issues. This too accounts for almost one-fourth of the world s maternal deaths. India has among the poorest maternal mortality indicators in the world, and child survival has not improved as it should have. Better early care and immunization, along with tackling diarrhoea and pneumonia among children ensure improvements in child survival, and also contributes to reducing the family size and population stabilization in India India faces the enormous challenge in achieving the Millenium Development Goals by reducing infant mortality from 53 per 1000 live births to less than 30 and maternal mortality from 254 per 100,000 live births to less than 100 by 2015. On the face of it, this challenge seems almost unsurpassable in the given timeframe. With just five years to the 2015 deadline for achieving the MDGs the country as a whole will not be on track for a majority of the targets related to poverty, hunger, health, gender equality and environmental sustainability unless concerted national efforts are made by government and all sections of civil-society working in tandem.