UN Reports on Child Mortality

UN Report on Child Mortality

Global studies on child mortality and stillbirths have been released to show if India is doing enough to ensure the health and survival of every kid.

The United Nations Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME) published two global studies on child mortality (Levels and Trends in Child Mortality) and stillbirths (Never Forgotten)

Findings of the Report:

Rate of child mortality (under-five mortality rate):

• It is the probability of dying between birth and the age of five expressed per 1,000 live births.
• In 2021, 5 million children died before reaching the age of five (under-five mortality).
• Over half of these (2.7 million) happened in children aged one to 59 months, with the balance (2.3 million) occurring in the first month of life (neonatal deaths).
• The contribution of India to these child deaths was estimated to be roughly 7 lakh under-five deaths, 5.8 lakh newborn deaths (death before first birthday), and 4.4 lakh neonatal deaths.

Report on Stillbirth:

• It is the death or loss of a baby prior to or during birth.
• Both miscarriage and stillbirth are terms used to describe pregnancy loss, however, they differ in terms of when the loss happens.
• Classification by the World Health Organization: A stillbirth occurs when a baby dies after 28 weeks of pregnancy but before or during birth.
• In 2021, an estimated 1.9 million stillbirths will occur worldwide.
• The absolute predicted number of stillbirths in India in 2021 (2,86,482) was more than the death rate among children aged 1 to 59 months (2,67,565).

Access to Quality Health Care:

• For many children around the world, access to and availability of quality health care is a matter of life and death.
• The majority of child deaths occur within the first five years of life, with half occurring within the first month of life.
• Premature birth and difficulties during labour are the primary causes of death for these infants.

What Causes So Many Child Deaths?

• Inadequate granularity and dependability of data: While countries have improved methods for tracking child mortality, data on stillbirths and premature deliveries is limited.
• This is a challenge because 'preterm babies' are two to four times more likely to die after birth than those delivered after 37 weeks of gestation.
• Because India has a high rate of preterm deliveries, babies in the country are at a higher risk of problems and death.
• Preterm birth and stillbirth rates are unacceptably high in India, driving increased neonatal, infant, and child mortality rates. As a result, they require immediate action.

What can be done to reduce the number of stillbirths and premature births?

• Scaling up established and effective therapies and increasing healthcare quality.
• The emphasis must be on expanding access to family planning services.
• Improving antepartum services such as health and nutrition, especially pregnant women’s iron and folic acid intake.
• Counseling on the significance of a balanced diet and good nutrition.
• Risk factors must be identified and managed.
• Diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and infections are all disorders that put moms at risk and must be prevented, detected, and managed.
• Reduce future neurological problems in preterm newborns by assuring Kangaroo mother care and early exclusive breastfeeding initiation.
• Stillbirths can be avoided by closely monitoring labour and functional referral links, as well as improving the quality of health care services.

Way Forward

• Preterm births are responsible for one out of every six deaths among children under the age of five, according to research.
• However, three out of every four deaths caused by preterm delivery complications are avoidable.
• Preterm birth and stillbirth rates are unacceptably high in India, driving increased neonatal, infant, and child mortality rates.
• The guidelines for maternal and perinatal fatalities must be effectively enforced.
• Perinatal mortality must be defined according to the International Classification of Diseases.
• This classification will aid in standardising the reasons of stillbirth reporting.
• India must identify hotspot clusters of stillbirths and preterm births in order to implement local and focused interventions.
• The government promised to invest 5% of GDP in health by 2025 in the National Health Policy of 2017.
• The government's allocation for health has barely minimally risen.