Most new-born deaths in India; Pakistan, Bangladesh fare better: report

Of every 100 newborns that die in the world, 29 die in India.

A report on 186 countries on Tuesday revealed that in Indian as many as 300,000 babies die on the day they are born every year while infants fare better even in Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The report showed that 40 percent of the world’s first-day deaths occur in South Asia, which accounts for 24 percent of the world’s population.

It said Bangladesh and Pakistan also have large numbers of yearly first-day deaths at 28,000 and 60,000 respectively with chronic malnourishment of mothers one of the major factors for the fatalities in the region.

“Progress has been made, but more than 1,000 babies die every day on their first day of life from preventable causes throughout India, Pakistan and Bangladesh,” said Mike Novell, the regional director of the charity.

Non-governmental organisation, Save the Children, compared first-day deaths in 186 countries for its “State of World’s Mother Report”. Luxembourg has the least new-born deaths, India the most, the reports says.

While infant deaths in India have come down by almost half as compared to 1990, the rate has been slower than that in, say, Nepal.

The statistics only get worse. More than half the child deaths in India happen in the first month. And India has the biggest disparity between the rich and poor in child deaths.