BHUBANESWAR: Containment of neonatal mortality has given a boost to Orissa’s struggle to shed the ignominy of being the highest infant mortality rate (IMR) state in the country. Orissa is one of the few states in the country where neonatal mortality has been halted to a significant level. The absolute change in neonatal mortality rate (NMR) between 2005 and 2009 is on par with the change or reduction in IMR in the State against the majority of states which have recorded decline in IMR but no change or negative advancement in NMR. The decline in IMR and NMR in Orissa has been 10 points in the five years under survey. However, states like Maharashtra, UP, Haryana, Assam, Jharkhand have shown no decline in NMR. Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh have even registered negative progression by one and three points respectively. The NMR trend in Orissa in terms of its proportion to IMR, in fact, has seen a reversal after four years while the proportion has gone up in the country as a whole. In 2004, the NMR at 49 against IMR of 77 accounted for 63 percent but in the subsequent years of 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008, its proportion to IMR had gone up to as high as 71 percent while the country hovered at around 66 percent. The SRS report also reveals that Orissa has recorded maximum decline in IMR in the country in the last 10 years by shedding a substantial 30 points. The IMR which was 97 per 1000 live births in 2000 has come down to 65 in 2009 with rural areas accounting for 68 and urban far lower at 46 percent. The target at hand is to achieve the millennium development goal (MDG) of 50 by 2015. The Government has adopted a three-pronged strategy to arrest the IMR and MMR rates in the State with increased focus on reducing unwanted fertility along with upgradation of health infrastructure as well as equipping the personnel on ground with training. Over 6200 doctors, nurses, ANMs, AYUSH and other staff have been trained for skilled deliveries and new born care. Janani Express has been launched in 304 of the 314 blocks to carry pregnant women to hospitals for safe institutional deliveries. The hospitals and centres have reported an average case load of 42 per month while over 23.45 lakh beneficiaries have availed Janani Surakhya Yojana assistance between 2006-11. Seventy percent of the institutional deliveries in the state have been escorted through ASHAs.
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