Awareness campaigns and provision of better medical facilities in hospitals are chief contributing factors to high natality rate in Rajasthan…
Rajasthan, a state that was infamous for social evils like female foeticide and women deaths takes pride in its improved sex ratio (928 women to 1000 men) now. This Tuesday, Rajasthan received yet another reason to rejoice. According to a survey conducted by NFHS (National Family Health Survey) between January 23 to July 21 2016, Rajasthan infant mortality rate (IMR) declined by 24%. Not only this, Under-5 Mortality Rate (U5MR ratio) that is probability of death since childhood up to 5 years of age, experienced a dip of 34 points in last 10 years. This is a matter of pride for Raje government that has put relentless efforts in key sectors like healthcare, education and food supply. “Improving standards of living” in rural Rajasthan was the chief objective of Raje government that came to power with the vision of Suraaj for Rajasthan.
Rajasthan Infant Mortality Rate Declines and Woman Literacy Rate Shoots Up
According to NFHS survey results, the previously recorded death ratio was 65 deaths per 1000 live births (before 2006). Ever since NRHM (National Rural Health Mission) was launched in the country, state government had put in relentless efforts to push health indicators as per the standards set by the government. Consequently, when central agency conducted a fresh round of survey for 2015-2016, they revealed that current mortality rate had declined to 41 deaths per 1000 live births (24% decrease). Additionally, the new U5MR ration was 51 deaths per 1000 live births as opposed to 85:1000 ratio earlier.
Rural Vs. Urban Regions
This was just an average estimate. Speaking in terms of cities and villages, urban areas have a better natality ratio (69 survivors per 1000 births) compared to rural population (56 survivors per 1000 births). This shows that the government has to set some concrete strategy to improve this ratio in rural regions. In this gap of 11 years, NRHM has funded a lot of healthcare, maternity and childcare projects in state to boost health indicators. Nevertheless, women in urban areas receive better maternal and childcare as compared to rural families.
- Antenatal check-up for mothers in first trimester: 74.9% (urban) vs. 59.6% (rural).
- Number of mothers who take at least 3 antenatal care visits: 53.8% (urban) vs. 34.1% (rural).
- Mothers who received full antenatal care: 25.6% (urban) vs. 7.4% (rural).
In terms of childcare, the ratios are:
- Children who receive completed check-up within 24 hours of birth: 4.1% (urban) vs. 0.8% (rural),
- Children who’re fully immunised within 12 to 23 months: 60.9% (urban) vs. 52.1% (rural).
In this regard, newly appointed state health minister Kalicharan Saraf claimed that the department would take special measures to deliver direct benefits of state-run policies to rural regions. Hopefully, Raje government’s ambitious schemes like Shubhlakshmi, Bhamashah and Rajshree etc. will help us bridge this gap.
