With a high GDP growth rate to boast about, India may be on its way to become a power to reckon with in the world of economy, but when it comes to basic health indicators, the country fares worse than even its neighbouring countries.
With a high GDP growth rate to boast about, India may be on its way to become a power to reckon with in the world of economy, but when it comes to basic health indicators, the country fares worse than even its neighbouring countries.
A comparison of India with its South Asian neighbours reveals that Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka — which are economically less powerful — have performed better with respect to basic health indicators. India can find solace in the fact that two other neighbours — Pakistan and Afghanistan — have performed worse.
Dr Sangeeta Subudhi, consultant pediatrics, Fortis Hospital, Delhi, said, “India’s population is to be blamed for the poor performance. The social reforms are not effectively implemented. It is high time social reforms reached every corner of India to put a check on the rise in rates of basic health indicators.”
According to the latest figures released by the Union government, the Neonatal Mortality Rate (per thousand live births) of India is 34. Bangladesh has an NMR of 30, while the figures for Nepal and China stand at 26 and 11 respectively.
However, Pakistan and Afghanistan are at the bottom of the chart with an NMR of 42and 53 respectively.
The Infant Mortality Rate (per thousand live births) of India stands at 50. Bangladesh, China, Nepal and Sri Lanka have performed better with Sri Lanka recording an IMR of 13 and China 17.
However, Pakistan and Afghanistan have recorded high infant mortality rate. The Infant Mortality Rate of Pakistan stands at 70 and that of Afghanistan stands at 134.
The Under-Five Mortality Rate (U5MR) (per thousand live births) of India is 64. Among the neighbours, Sri Lanka emerges as the top performer followed by China, Nepal and Bangladesh. The U5MR of Sri Lanka is 16 and that of Nepal is 48.
Pakistan and Afghanistan were again worst performers in Under-five Mortality Rate. The U5MR of Pakistan and that of Afghanistan stand at 87 and 199 respectively.
Ajaa, child rights programme officer, Chetanalaya, a Delhi-based NGO, said, “India is a big country so it is extremely necessary to adopt strategies which are planned and the focus should be on target intervention. Countries such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal are better scorers as they must have adopted right strategies to combat problems related to maternal and child health.”
As far as malnutrition is concerned, India again has poor record. At least 42.5 percent of the children in India are underweight followed by Bangladesh (41.3 percent) and Nepal (38.8 percent).
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