Meeting to examine IMR review system held in city

Meeting to examine IMR review system held in city

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, Dec 4: The district unit of Health and Family Welfare Services in collaboration with UNICEF organized a stake holders’ consultation on the ’Infant Death Review System’ at RAPCC Hall on Dec 4, Saturday.

 

 

 

 

The chief guest of the event, CEO of Zilla Panchayat P. Shivashankar, said that the state government has chosen DK and Raichur districts for the UNICEF to make a comparative study of the infant mortality rate. He also said that the reported system in India ought to be enhanced because it is unacceptable at present. Although the ASHA workers have improved the situation in rural areas, ASHA workers are not available to trace reports, he said.

DC Subodh Yadav presided over the event and said that infant mortality in developed countries is 3 – 4 percent, but in DK, it is 1 percent and in Udupi, it is 9 percent. Compared to other districts such as Bijapur and Gulbarga, DK and Udupi have the lowest infant mortality rates. Since infant mortality is related to development, the infant mortality rate of developed areas is lower, he explained. He also said that death of infants is hardly noticed and rarely reported, owing to which most IMR reports do not give the correct picture.

Prof. S. Shivananda, the director of Indira Institute of Child Health in Bangalore; Prof. B. S. Baliga, the HOD of the department of pediatrics in KMC Mangalore; and Dr. Sanjeev Upadyaya, the health and nutrition specialist of UNICEF in Hyderabad were the chief guests and resource persons at the seminar.