This Southern State Records Lowest Infant Mortality Rate In India

According to the Sample Registration System (SRS) 2023 report, Kerala has become again a national benchmark in health care with the lowest infant mortality rate (IMR) in India at 5 per 1,000 live births. This is not only remarkable in the Indian set up but also on the international scene because Kerala’s IMR has outpaced the United States where the provisional IMR in 2023 was 5.61.

Health Minister Veena George hailed the achievement and commended the health workers for their hard work day and night. She stated that Kerala’s rural and urban sectors both achieved the same IMR of 5 per 1,000 births. She underscored the state’s enthusiasm for health care equity. “Kerala has beat developed states. Our commitment to maternal and child healthcare guarantees babies the best opportunity for a successful life,” she proclaimed in her September 6 statement.

What about other states?

While Kerala is clearly the example here, the other southern states also showed remarkable gains. Tamil Nadu had an IMR of 12, steadily improving from 15 in 2018. However Karnataka had 14 and a massive decline from 23 in 2018. Telangana and Andhra Pradesh had 18 and 19 IMR respectively. These figures indicate real, deliberate and sustainable gains in south Indian states which have been consistent in investing time and capabilities in public health and social development programming. Notably, as the only other place in the world with pronounced gender imbalance for infant survival rates, Kerala also has impressive IMRs by gender: male IMR 9; female IMR 2.

In contrast, the situation is dire throughout most of central and northern India. Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Uttar Pradesh are far from this, and all have IMRs of 37 deaths per $1,000$ births, which is around seven times the IMR in Kerala. An illustration of stark inequities in health access and infrastructure. At the all-India level, India’s overall IMR is $25$ deaths per $1,000$ births, with considerable regional variation. Within the mostly comparable IMR established by Kerala include Goa, Sikkim, Ladakh, and Chandigarh, along with an IMR of less than the death rate established, Indian states which raise the bar to an IMR on par with almost all developed countries.

The rural-urban divide also exposes divergent realities. Throughout India, rural IMR is 28 versus 18 in urban settings. Yet southern states have more equitable access. Kerala is particularly notable with no rural-urban disparity whatsoever, both having a rate of 5. Tamil Nadu has only a small gap, with rural being 13 and urban being 11, while Karnataka reports rural at 16 versus urban at 12. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana exhibit slightly more rural mortality, but even their rates are comparable to the national rate.

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