State health ministry forms panel to curb malnourished children's deaths

Mumbai: In order to curb the deaths of infants, malnourished children and foetuses, the state health ministry formed a committee of neonatologists on Thursday. The committee will assess the queries regarding the neonatal fatalities in the state and civic-run hospitals.

The emphasis of the committee will be on Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). State health minister Dr Deepak Sawant said, “We need new and improved technology to treat infants and we are working on the same. In certain cases, if the infant is found to be underweight, the infant is referred to privately-run hospitals, which can be dangerous for the infant’s life. So, to avoid such incidents, we will take action.”

“Underweight infants are prone to falling ill because of weak digestive systems and breathing disorders, if they have poor-functioning lungs, which leads to fatalities,” said a health department official. A total of 45,724 child malnourishment cases were recorded in 2014-15 and 2015-16. This included 25,289 in the first year and 20,435 the subsequent year.