Question : Infant Mortality Rate among Scheduled Tribes

(a) the present status of infant mortality rate among Scheduled Tribes (ST) in the country, State/UT-wise and year-wise since 2018;
(b) the reasons and factors that influence the infant deaths among Scheduled Tribes;
(c) the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to reduce infant mortality rate;
(d) whether the infant mortality rate is very high in the ST community and if so, the details thereof; and
(e) whether the Government is planning to launch a new scheme to combat the problem of infant mortality in the country?

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
(DR. BHARATI PRAVIN PAWAR)

(a): As per the latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS) – V (2019-21), the Infant Mortality Rate is 41.6 per 1000 live births among Scheduled Tribes (ST) in the country.
The State/ UT wise details are - Arunachal Pradesh (1.9), Assam (33.9), Bihar (57.0), Chhattisgarh (58.0), Gujarat (31.9), Himachal Pradesh (20.8), Jammu & Kashmir (30.1), Jharkhand (44.4), Karnataka (28.7), Madhya Pradesh (41.3), Maharashtra (31.1), Manipur (23.2), Meghalaya (32.6), Odisha (55.9), Rajasthan (43.2), Telangana (39.6), Tripura (50.8), Uttar Pradesh (57.6), and West Bengal (26.7).

(b) to (e): As per Cause of Death Statistics 2015-17 report of Registrar General India, major causes of infant mortality in India are - Prematurity & low birth weight (37.0%), Pneumonia (15.5%), Birth asphyxia & birth trauma (10.4%), Other Non-Communicable Diseases (9.1%), Congenital anomalies (4.9%), Diarrheal diseases (4.9%), Acute bacterial sepsis and severe infections (4.7%), Fever of unknown origin (3.1%), Injuries (2.9%), Ill-defined or cause unknown (5.0%), and all Other Causes of deaths (2.5%).

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) is supporting all States/UTs in implementation of Reproductive, Maternal, New-born, Child, Adolescent health and Nutrition (RMNCAH+N) strategy under National Health Mission (NHM) based on the Annual Programme Implementation Plan (APIP) submitted by States/ UTs to reduce Infant Mortality Rate. The details of interventions are placed at Annexure I.