Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan released the report on Thursday.
In a landmark study undertaken in Gadchiroli, Dr Abhay Bang and his colleagues trained community health workers working with traditional birth attendants to recognise serious neonatal illnesses such as birth asphyxia and suspected bacterial infections and treat them with home-based resuscitation, oral or injectable antibiotics. The programme showed a significant reduction in neonatal mortality. It was replicated in other states and certain developing countries.
The study was recognised in the paper The first 28 days of life published in the report. The report highlights the vital importance of community-based child-health initiatives. It further says that measures such as early and exclusive breastfeeding, immunisation and Vitamin A supplementation are cost-effective, proven ways of reducing child mortality and are especially needed in India, where progress on child survival has been slowest. State of the worlds children 2009, tracks childrens health across the world based on various parameters.
The report further points out that despite the remarkable work done in some pockets of rural Maharashtra, the overall situation on child and women health in India still looks grim. Even Bangladesh has superseded India in under five-mortality ranking. Gopi Menon, Maharashtra chief for UNICEF said, India ranks 49 from the bottom where as Bangladesh ranks 58. What worked for Bangladesh was community-based programming, strong awareness initiatives by NGOs like Ganaswasto and Bangladesh Rural Action Committee who have a national reach.
There should be a task force that helps bring all the departments- public health department, women and child welfare department, tribal department, planning and finance department- to come together and create a plan of action for Maharashtras problem of maternal mortality, infant and child malnutrition, said the CM.
According to the report, two thirds of all maternal deaths occur in just 10 countries. India and Nigeria together account for one third of maternal deaths worldwide. India alone accounted for 22 per cent of the global maternal mortality.
Early marriage continues to be a problem for girls as that calls for early pregnancy, hence risking the life of the mother and the child. In Maharashtra alone 21 percent of girls marry before maturity, said Menon.
Early pregnancy, lack of gap between children and deliveries without proper care lead to complications. A quarter of the worlds unattended deliveries take place in India, which is also one of the 10 countries that together account for two thirds of births not attended by skilled health workers.