Of 36 Indian states and Union territories (UTs), the lowest IMRs were reported from Goa and Manipur with nine infant deaths per 1,000 live births First, the good news: 37 babies died for every 1,000 that were born in 2015, two better than the government’s projections of an infant mortality rate (IMR) of 39 for that year, according to new data released last week. That’s a drop of 53 per cent over 25 years. Now, the bad news: The target for IMR reduction was 67 per cent; it has fallen 10 short of the target 27 that India agreed to under the 2015 millennium development goals (MDGs), set in consultation with the United Nations. India has also not achieved the IMR target of 30 that the government itself set for 2012. To get an idea of India’s global standing, compare its 2015 IMR average of 37 with IMRs of 35 for 154 low- and middle-income nations; five for 26 north American nations and three for 39 nations in the Euro area.

 

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