UNICEF Report on Infant Mortality Rate

According to report released by United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) the global Infant Mortality rate (IMR) decreased from 61 deaths in 1990 to 37 deaths in 2011.Annual infant deaths declined from 8.4 million in 1990 to 5 million in 2011.

According to the report India’s infant mortality rate shown a minor decline in 2012 compared to 2011. Infant Mortality rate decreased from 44 deaths for every 1000 live births in 2011 to 42 deaths for every 1000 live in 2012.

According to latest report released by Register General of India data the following are the highlights of the report-

1. Kerala is good performing state in India with IMR of 12.
2. Assam stood at worst in India with IMR 55.The performance of West Bengal is also not good. The IMR of West Bengal is stood at 32.
3. States like Uttar Pradesh and Odisha improved well .IMR declined from 57 in 2011 to 53 in 2012 in both states.
4. Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu showed a one-point decline.
5. Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir improved their IMR by two points.
6. Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Delhi and Karnataka improved their IMR by three points.

Main causes for High IMR in India

The main causes for high infant mortality rate in India are low awareness of health and reproductive rights, maternal anemia and the burden of malnutrition.

Infant mortality rate (IMR) is the number of deaths of children less than one year of age per 1000 live births.

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