In Southeast Asia, India leads in child mortality

India accounts for maximum number of newborn deaths in Southeast Asia region. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), out of the total deaths in the region, more than 75 per cent of neonatal deaths are reported from India. The recent data by the international health agency revealed that out of 89,4000 neonatal deaths in 2015, India accounted for 69,6000 deaths followed by Bangladesh (74,000) and Indonesia (74,000 deaths). Ironically, with this pace, the WHO said that India will not be able to achieve Millenium Development Goals (MDG) 4 to reduce child mortality, MDG 5 to improve maternal health by 2015 and even the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), one of the targets to reduce newborn mortality to 12 per 1,000 live births by 2030.

While the international health agency expects India to take another 3-4 years to be on track, WHO regional director for WHO East Asia region, Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, said that there is no lack of commitment on the part of the Indian government. “The government is concerned and serious about the healthcare sector. There has been a significant improvement in the sector. Health is a priority for the government and the health ministry is geared up. However, we must know that India is a big country. Challenges are there, the health systems are weak but since health is a state subject the government of India is handicapped. Some states are doing well but there are some where health is not a priority,” she said.

Nearly 7,400 newborns die every day in the Southeast Asia region. Experts say that two-thirds of these deaths can be prevented by adopting proven and cost-effective measures. “Focused efforts should be made to increase the health force which remains critically low in many countries. Institutional deliveries and best practices used in other countries which could be replicated in India can be a game changer,” Dr Khetrapal Singh added further.

According to the WHO experts, while the region made significant progress in reducing deaths among children under the age of five years, as part of efforts under the MDGs, the reduction in new born deaths was slower.

The region accounts for 30 per cent of global newborn deaths with Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Myanmar and Nepal as the high burden countries.