The study was published by Nature magazine.

New Delhi:

A study published in the “Nature” magazine this year has revealed that the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) has contributed significantly in reducing infant and under-five mortality rates across the country by saving 60,000 to 70,000 infant lives annually, Union Health Minister J P Nadda informed Parliament on Friday.

According to the Sample Registration System (SRS) report of the Registrar General of India, the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) in Andhra Pradesh reduced from 39 per 1,000 live births in 2014 to 24 per 1,000 live births in 2020 and the IMR in Telangana reduced from 35 per 1,000 live births to 21 per 1,000 live births in the said period, Nadda said in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.

The Union health ministry supports all states and Union territories in the implementation of the Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, Adolescent Health and Nutrition strategy under the National Health Mission (NHM), based on the Annual Programme Implementation Plan (APIP) to improve child survival in the country, he added.

These interventions include the promotion of institutional deliveries through cash incentives under the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY), entitlements under the Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram (JSSK), establishment of neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), special newborn care units (SNCUs) and newborn stabilisation units (NBSUs) to take care of sick and small babies and Home-Based Care of Young Child provided by ASHAs to improve child-rearing practices, the minister said.

The interventions also include the Mothers’ Absolute Affection (MAA) programme to promote early initiation and exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, promoting the use of ORS and zinc for the management of diarrhoea in children, early screening, identification and management on pneumonia under Social Awareness and Actions to Neutralise Pneumonia Successfully (SAANS) and strengthening paediatric care for the management of sick children at the district hospital level.

Also, the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) provides child-health screening and early-intervention services for defects, diseases, deficiencies and delays to improve the quality of survival, Nadda said.

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