India's maternal mortality rate dips to 103; Kerala, UP, Maharashtra mark sharpest decline

The health ministry, on March 14, announced that the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) of India had declined by 10 points as per the special bulletin on MMR released by the Registrar General of India.

MMR refers to deaths due to complications during pregnancy and childbirth. This rate in the country has declined from 113 in 2016-18 to 103 in 2017-19, marking a reduction of 8.8 percent as per the latest figures.

The country has been witnessing a progressive reduction in MMR from 130 in 2014-2016, 122 in 2015-17, 113 in 2016-18, and to 103 in 2017-19.

With this persistent decline, India is on track to achieve the Sustainable Goal Development (SDG) target of 70/lakh live births by 2030.

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The number of states which have achieved the SDG target has now risen from 5 to 7 and includes Kerala (30), Maharashtra (38), Telangana (56), Tamil Nadu (58), Andhra Pradesh (58), Jharkhand (61), and Gujarat (70).

There are now nine states that have achieved the target of MMR set by the NHP, which was 100 by 20202, and includes Karnataka (83) and Haryana (96), apart from the seven mentioned above.

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Five states - Uttarakhand (101), West Bengal (109), Punjab (114), Bihar (130), Odisha (136) and Rajasthan (141) have MMR in between 100-150, while for 4 states, Chhattisgarh (160), Madhya Pradesh (163), Uttar Pradesh (167) and Assam (205) have MMR above 150.

Encouraging achievement has been reported by Uttar Pradesh, which has shown the maximum decline of 30 points, Rajasthan (23 points), Bihar (19 points), Punjab (15 points) and Odisha (14 points), said the ministry.

Remarkably, three states -Kerala, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh- have shown more than 15 percent decline in MMR, while six states, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Bihar, Punjab, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh have shown a decline between 10-15 percent.

Four states, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha and Karnataka, on the other hand, witnessed a decline between 5-10 percent.

Worryingly, four States -West Bengal, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh- have shown an increase in MMR and the government said that they will need to reappraise their strategy and intensify their efforts to accelerate the MMR decline to achieve the SDG target.

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The ministry underlined that schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan and Labour Room Quality Improvement Initiative (LaQshya) in conjunction with the existing schemes like Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram and Janani Suraksha Yojana have helped reduce MMR in India over the years.

Additionally, flagship schemes by the women and child development ministry such as the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) and Poshan Abhiyan which target nutrition delivery for vulnerable populations, particularly pregnant and nursing women and children have also aided the cause, it stressed.