Jahangeer Ganaie
Srinagar, May 25: The infant mortality rate is on a sharp decline in Jammu and Kashmir, dropping from 32 to 16 per 1000 in the last 5 years, the National Health and Family Survey-5 (NHFS-5) has reported.
The infant mortality rate as per NHFS-2 was 65 per 1000 which declined to 45 per 1000 in five years (NHFS-3), to 32 in another five years (NHFS-4), and down to 16 in the last five years (NHFS-5).
“The mortality rates among children under age 5 years including neonatal, postneonatal and infant mortality rates is an important indicator that measures the overall well-being of a country. The infant mortality rate in Jammu & Kashmir in NFHS-5 is estimated at 16 deaths before the age of one year per 1,000 live births, down from the NFHS-4 estimate of 32, the NFHS-3 estimate of 45 and the NFHS-2 estimate of 65. The under-five mortality rate (U5MR) is estimated to be 28 deaths before five years of age per 1,000 live births, almost the same as U5MR in NFHS-4 (29 per 1,000,” it said.
“In Jammu & Kashmir all infant and child mortality rates are higher for boys than girls. Having children too close together is also a risk. Children born less than four years after a previous birth are more likely to die in infancy as children whose mothers waited for at least four years between births,” it adds.
“Children born to mothers age 30-39 are more likely to die during infancy than children born to mothers in the prime childbearing age (20-29 years). Infant mortality rates are also higher for Muslims than Hindus and are highest for scheduled tribes than any other group. Mortality rate is relatively higher in rural areas, among infants whose mother have no schooling or less years schooling, and having higher birth order,” it adds further.
The infant mortality rate in urban areas is 15 per 1000 while it is 17 per 1000 in rural areas.
