NEW DELHI, Sept 7 - Although Assam has slipped on many key health indicators, in an encouraging news, the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) has declined in the State according to the Annual Health Survey (AHS) Report.
The Annual Health Survey Report was released by the Registrar General of India and Census Commissioner on Tuesday. The AHS was conducted across nine states of India � Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
The AHS states account for about 50 per cent of the total population of India, 61 per cent of births, 71 per cent of infant deaths, 72 per cent of under-5 deaths and 62 per cent of maternal deaths, the report said. The first AHS was conducted in 2010-11.
The report said that rapid improvement across these states is critical to ensure overall social and economic development of the country. Altogether, 284 districts are covered under the survey that included 23 districts of Assam, 37 districts of Bihar, 16 districts of Chhattisgarh, 18 districts of Jharkhand, 45 districts of Madhya Pradesh, 30 districts of Odisha, 32 districts of Rajasthan, 70 districts of Uttar Pradesh and 13 of districts Uttarakhand.
The estimates based on the three successive surveys (2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13) suggest that the pace of reduction in maternal mortality ratio is decelerating and that a few divisions are unable to sustain a consistent pace of reduction.
According to the report, the MMR in Assam in 2010-2011 was 381 and in 2011-2012 it was recorded at 347 and in 2012-2013, it came down to 301. The maternal mortality rate in Assam in 2010-2011 was 31, in 2011-2012 it came down to 27 and in 2012-2013 it further declined to 23.
In 2010-11, Assam registered 381 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births and showed the highest maternal mortality ratio of 301 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2012-13. A continuous decline in maternal mortality ratio over the period 2010-11 to 2012-13 has been observed, but the decline in the level of maternal mortality ratio has been quite slow and the level of maternal mortality ratio except for Uttarakhand has been higher than 200 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births.
