INFANT HEALTH CARE IN INDIA: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF INDIAN STATES

Abstract

The health scenario of a country depends to a great extent on health indicator besides the availability of physical and human infrastructure. It is generally accepted that the maternal and child health of a region expressed in terms of MMR and IMR respectively reflects the actual picture of a nation’s health status. In India, MMR and IMR have been historically adverse.  India’s infant mortality rate of 34.6 in 2017 was alarmingly high compared to many other developing countries. It has also been much lower than the Sustainable Development Goal target of 25 per 1000 live birth by 2030. In this backdrop, the rationale for a detailed exploration of the infant care received in the health institutions of the Indian states appears to be strong. This is sought to be exercised through the construction of three independent indices based on three dimensions, namely, Vaccination, Immunization and infant deaths and one composite index. The composite health index so constructed ranks the states based on maternal care and also exposes the asymmetrical attainments in a the Indian states in all the three dimensions considered.