Srinagar- Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed a significant decline in infant mortality rate from 26 per 1,000 live births in 2015 to 17 per 1,000 live births in 2020, helping the Union Territory to achieve a substantial improvement in maternal and child health, according to the Sample Registration System (SRS) Statistical Report 2020.
As per the report, recently released by the Registrar General of India, J&K is witnessing a progressive decrease in infant mortality rate (IMR), 5 mortality rate (U5MR) and neo-mortality rate (NMR) since 2014.
Besides the Infant Mortality Rate, the report said that the Under Five Mortality Rate (U5MR) in the UT has decreased from 21 to 17 points per 1000 live births, Neonatal Mortality rate from 15 to 12, Early-Neonatal Mortality Rate from 10 to 08. As per the report, the Sex Ratio at birth (females per 1000 males) in J&K has also increased from 906 to 921.
Pertinently, the infant mortality rate (IMR) is the number of infant deaths for every 1,000 live births. In addition to providing key information about maternal and infant health, the infant mortality rate is an important marker of the overall health of a society.
However, Jammu and Kashmir has shown an incremental performance in Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as per the recent reports on health indicators including National Family Health Survey(NFHS).
The proposed SDG target for child mortality aims to end, by 2030, preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age, with all countries aiming to reduce neonatal mortality to at least as low as 12 deaths per 1,000 live births and under-5 mortality to at least as low as 25 deaths per 1,000 live births, which as per the report, J&K has already achieved.
In terms of marriage, among the bigger States and UTs Jammu & Kashmir has recorded the lowest percentage of married population as only 46.2 percent are married in the UT whereas the highest percentage was recorded for Andhra Pradesh (59.5) in the year 2020.
“51.8 percent of the population in J&K never-married in 2020 whereas 46.2 percent of the population was married,” the report said, adding that among the bigger States/UTs the lowest percentage of married females is found to be in Jammu & Kashmir (49.0).
The report also says that the Crude Birth Rate (CBR) in J&K has seen a decrease in the past one decade. From 2008-2010, J&K’s CBR was 18.6 when expressed as births per 1,000 population whereas the crude Birth rate came down to 15.0 per 1000 population in 2018-20. As per SRS, the average percentage change in CBR in J&K was -19.4 percent.
As per the report, the General Fertility Rate (GFR) has also come down to 48.6 in 2018-20 against 2008-10’s 68.6. The GFR is the average number of children currently being born to women of reproductive age in the period, typically 1-36 months preceding the survey, expressed per 1,000 women aged 15-49 years.
By the age 34, the percentage share of cumulative fertility varies from 79.6 in Jammu & Kashmir to 95.1 in West Bengal. The percentage share in cumulative fertility for women by the age 39 years varies from 92.2 in Jammu & Kashmir to 99.0 in Tamil Nadu.
However, J&K witnessed a vicious change in the Total Fertility Rate(TFR) as the UT’s TFR came down to 1.5—The second lowest TFR in India—in 2018-20 against 2008-10’s 2.2.
The report also mentioned that J&K has the second highest number of mothers that received medical attention during delivery in government hospitals. 70.3 percent of women received medical attention at government hospitals in J&K while Rajasthan had the highest percentage (70.9 percent) in 2020.
According to SRS, the Crude Death rate in J&K has also come down to 4.7 per 1000 people in 2018-20 against 5.7 per 1000 people in 2008-10.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Sample Registration System (SRS) is a Central government initiative for providing reliable annual estimates of Infant mortality rate, birth rate, death rate and other fertility & mortality indicators at the national and sub-national levels.
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