UN applauds India’s Child Mortality drop, calls health reforms ‘Exemplar’

The United Nations praised India for reducing preventable child deaths, calling its health reforms “exemplar.” The UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation report highlighted India, along with Nepal, Senegal, Ghana, and Burundi, for significant progress through strategic health investments and evidence-based policies.

Since 2000, India cut under-five mortality by 70% and neonatal mortality by 61%. The report credited programs like Ayushman Bharat, the world’s largest health insurance scheme, which covers nearly USD 5,500 annually per family. Free maternal care, including cesarean deliveries and infant care, also played a crucial role.

India improved healthcare access by establishing maternal and child health wings, newborn care units, and birth defect screening programs. Newborn survival rates increased through advanced interventions like antenatal corticosteroids and continuous positive airway pressure for preterm babies.

Training and deploying skilled birth attendants and community health workers helped expand maternal and child health services. Improved data systems and digital surveillance supported evidence-based decision-making, further strengthening healthcare delivery.

The report noted that India’s child mortality rate has outpaced global and regional declines. Since 2000, India reduced under-five measles deaths by 97%, increasing infant vaccination rates from 56% to 93% by 2023.

Globally, child deaths before age five fell to 4.8 million in 2023, while stillbirths remained around 1.9 million. Sustained investment in child survival measures, such as vaccines and sanitation, contributed to a global drop in child deaths by more than half since 2000.

UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell warned that without continued investment and the right policies, these gains could reverse, putting millions of children at risk.