Mortality rate
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, July 05 2019: A one day regional consultation workshop on 'Identification of Determinants for Low Infant Mortality Rate in Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland', was held at Hotel Classic Grande today, under the aegis of United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (Child Health Division), Regional Resource Centre for North East (RRC-NE) under the National Health Resource Centre and State Health Society Manipur.

The event was attended by UNICEF representative Dr Pravin Khobragade, Deputy Commissioner in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Dr Ajay Khera, RRC-NE Director Dr Ashoke Roy, Principal Secretary (Health and Family Welfare) Manipur Vumlunmang Vualnam, Manipur Health Services Director Dr K Rajo, National Health Mission (NHM), Mizoram Mission Director Dr Eric Zomawia and NHM Nagaland's Dr Thanghoi Lam as the presidium members.

Speaking at the workshop, NHM Manipur Mission Director Dr S Manikanta said that Manipur was recognised in 2013 and 2014 for low Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and added that the low IMR is due to many reasons, one of them being the high rate of deliveries at various levels ranging from PHSC to medical colleges.

The State Government strictly monitors the already existing 421 PHSCs and there are plans to add another 25 PHSCs in the State, he said.

The Government is also planning to establish 10 CHCs and 10 PHCs, he added.

Stating that nurses are often present in adequate number, he added that the doctor-people ratio is 1:900 (one doctor for every 900 people) which is not that bad compared to other States of the country.

MoHFW Deputy Commissioner Dr Ajay Khera said that Indian is also one of the signatories of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations which lays down proper guidelines for universal health coverage.

Stating that the often expensive delivery, maternal and child health services of the North East States need deliberation, Dr Ajoy Khera continued that IMR shows the all round development and human development index of a State or a country.

The rise and fall of IMR depends on many factors including the socio-cultural aspects of a region, natural environment, literacy rate, health condition etc, he added.

He also stressed on the necessity of conducting research into the factors affecting IMR in Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland.

Speaking about Manipur, Dr Ajay Khera said that the IMR has decreased for the State but in the recent years, the IMR level seems to have stagnated.

This is not a good sign, he said and added that with effort, the number can be reduced even further.

On the other hand, Manipur Health Services Director Dr K Rajo said that the current IMR of Manipur is 12 (calculated for every 1000 babies born in a year) .

He continued that the antenatal checkup rate is 70 percent, institutional delivery is 69.1 percent and informed that RIMS, JNIMS and the district hospitals of the State now have neonatal ICUs, neo-natal sick units and neo-natal care units.

The same facilities are also available at private institutions as well.

During the technical session which was held in two phases as a part of the workshop, paediatricians, epidemiologists, demographers, scientists, researchers, senior doctors and experts from UNICEF, MoHFW, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland spoke on various topics.

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