The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Government gives two sets of figures for IMR, MMR in State

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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Government gives two sets of figures for IMR, MMR in State

Bageshree S.

Minister’s reply reveals a startling trend compared to past figures

District-wise break-up of figures throws up complex picture
‘Painting a rosy picture may affect fund allocation’

Bangalore: Has the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) suddenly doubled in Karnataka over a period of one year.

Written replies given to queries in the Legislative Assembly by Minister for Health and Family Welfare B. Sriramulu would lead one to believe so. But the real picture is more complex than that.

In response to questions of Dr. Bagali Sarvabhauma Satagauda from Indi in Bijapur taluk (unmarked question numbers 461 and 463), the Minister said the current IMR was 48 for every 1,000 and MMR is 228 for every one lakh.

The data sheet provided along with the answer, with district-wise break-up, puts IMR at 21 for 2006-07 and MMR at 110 for the same year. Does this mean the mortality rate of children below one year of age and of women who have given birth shot up suddenly in one year?

Activists who have been following issues connected with Women and Child Welfare have reason to believe the figures cited by the Minister now might be closer to the truth than what was claimed in the past. Satish G.C. of Child Rights Trust (CRT) cites the findings of National Family Health Survey (NFHS), which put IMR at 43 for 2005-6 as corroborative evidence of this. The State’s own claim for the same year, attached with the Minister’s reply, puts the figure at 21. The figure for the following year is the same as per the State data.

Discrepancies crop up on a close examination of the district-wise break-up of the information provided along with the Minister’s answer and the documents procured by CTR last year under a Right to Information application. For example, while MMR for Bangalore Urban is put at 130 in the data provided in the Legislative Assembly for 2005-06, the information provided to CTR pegs it at 72 the same year. For Kolar district, the number is 147 in the Minister’s response and 136 in the RTI response in 2005-06.

Plan of action

Interestingly, Karnataka State Plan of Action for Children 2003-2010, says the State hopes to bring down IMR to 30 and MMR to 90 by 2010. The claims made in last year’s data would indicate that Karnataka had not only met its target three years in advance, but done better than what was projected for 2010.

The Minister’s reply projects a different picture. “We can improve things only if we can have a realistic picture and accept the ground reality. Creating a rosy picture on paper is counterproductive,” says Mr. Satish. “This will affect fund allocation because it is assumed that targets are already met,” he says.

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