Arora dissatisfied with Minister's reply on `Under 5 Mortality Rate’

Ludhiana, December 25, 2023: MP (Rajya Sabha) Sanjeev Arora has expressed his dissatisfaction over the reply given by Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Zubin Irani in response to questions on `Under 5 Mortality Rate’ asked by him in the recently concluded winter session of Rajya Sabha.

Arora had asked for details of the under-5 mortality rate (U5MR) in the country State/UT-wise for the last five years. He had also asked whether the government has any plan to incorporate Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a decision support system by physicians and care-givers to help in identification of high-risk births thereby reducing infant mortalities; and if so, the steps taken by the government to reduce these numbers.

In a statement here today, Arora said the Minister has provided data of State/UT-wise Under 5 Mortality Rate (U5MR) for the last five calendar years (from 2016 to 2020). He added this data does not make any significance because this seems to be old data. He opined that the Minister should have provided updated data atleast for the years 2021 and 2022 so that the latest situation could have been learnt.

The Minister mentioned in her reply that the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) supports all States/UTs in implementation of Reproductive, Maternal, New-born, Child, Adolescent health and Nutrition (RMNCAH+N) strategy under National Health Mission (NHM) based on the Annual Programme Implementation Plan (APIP) submitted by States/ UTs. All the interventions to reduce child morbidity and mortality are being implemented universally in all the States/UTs with focus on tribal and marginalised populations without any discrimination on gender, caste and religion.

Further, the Minister mentioned key interventions of MoHFW to reduce the U5 Mortality Rate in the country. These key interventions include Facility Based New-born Care; and Community Based care of New-born and Young Children.

The key interventions also include Social Awareness and Actions to Neutralize Pneumonia Successfully (SAANS) initiative implemented since 2019 for reduction of childhood morbidity and mortality due to Pneumonia; and Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK). Besides, Intensified Diarrhoea Control Fortnight / Defeat Diarrhoea (D2) initiative implemented for promoting ORS and Zinc use and for reducing diarrhoeal deaths. Also, several capacity building programs of health care providers are taken up for improving maternal and child survival and health outcomes.