Concern over high infant mortality rate in state

Normal

0

MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }

/* Style Definitions */

table.MsoNormalTable

{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";

mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;

mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;

mso-style-noshow:yes;

mso-style-parent:"";

mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;

mso-para-margin:0in;

mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;

mso-pagination:widow-orphan;

font-size:10.0pt;

font-family:"Times New Roman";}

VIJAYAWADA: Principal secretary of health department PV Ramesh has said Andhra Pradesh is backward when compared to Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu as the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) is quite high in the state. In IMR, AP is on par with Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, which are the most backward states in the country, he said.Speaking at a workshop jointly organised by UNICEF, WHO and Medical Council of India here on Monday under the Integrated Management of Neonatal and Child Illness (IMNCI) programme, he said the IMR in Andhra Pradesh was 40.3 per cent. The IMR is 11 per cent in Kerala and 28.5 per cent in Tamil Nadu. The IMR is very high among tribals (102%) and Scheduled Castes (73%) in the state. Hence, medical colleges should play a key role in bringing down the IMR. They should work in coordination with community health centres and primary health centres to promote institutional deliveries, he said.Ramesh said the state government allocated Rs 5,040 crore to the medical and health department for the current fiscal for promotion of medical and health care. Under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), Rs 1,160 crore was allocated to the state for child health care, he said. Explaining the objectives of IMNCI programme, Nidhi Choudary of WHO said everyone should strive to bring the IMR in Andhra Pradesh below 5 per cent.NTR University of Health Sciences vice-chancellor IV Rao and registrar T Venugopal Rao, Prof Sanjiv Lewin of St John’s Medical College and others participated in the workshop.