Telangana’s healthcare triumph during BRS regime: Dramatic drop in Infant and Maternal Mortality Rate, latest GOI report

The Sample Registration System (SRS) statistical report for 2021 and a special bulletin on Maternal Mortality in India (2019–2021), released on Thursday by the Office of the Registrar General of India in New Delhi, ranked Telangana among the top South Indian states—second only to Kerala—in reducing the Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR), defined as the number of maternal deaths per 1 lakh live births.

Hyderabad: In a clear endorsement of the progressive Mother and Child health care policies and initiatives that were implemented by BRS Government over the last decade, the latest Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) data, released by the Government of India on Thursday, has placed Telangana State among top performing States in the Country.

The Sample Registration System (SRS) statistical report of 2021 and a special bulletin on Maternal Mortality in India (2019-2021), released on Thursday by the Office of Registrar General of India, New Delhi, has placed Telangana State among top South Indian States, after Kerala, in reducing the Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR), which is the number of maternal deaths for 1 lakh live births.

The data in the SRS MMR (2019-2021) special bulletin indicated that Telangana State has an MMR of 45, while the national average is 93. Among Southern India, barring Kerala, which has an MMR of 20, the Telangana State, during the BRS regime, outperformed rest of the Southern States. The SRS data indicated that Tamilnadu has MMR of 49, Andhra Pradesh has 46 while Karnataka has MMR of 63.

The latest data on Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), which is the number of infant deaths for every 1, 000 live births in a year, in Telangana State is 20, while the national average is 27. In stark contrast, when Telangana State was formed in 2014, the IMR was 39. Despite the massive progress in improving IMR, other major South Indian States have fared better than Telangana State.

The SRS data revealed that Kerala has IMR of 06, Tamilnadu has 12, Andhra Pradesh has 22 while Karnataka has 17. Interestingly, the IMR of Telangana State in urban centres has dropped to just 16 (males 16 and females 15) while in rural settings, the IMR is 23 (males 23 and females 24).

Since its formation, over the last decade during BRS regime, the Telangana State has registered leaps and bounds of improvement in yet another crucial health care data point: The Under5 Mortality Rate (U5MR) of children, defined as the probability of a child dying before reaching 5 years of age per 1000 live births.

The U5MR of Telangana State in 2014-15 was 41, which means 41 children out of every 1000 live births, used to die before reaching the age of 5 years. However, by 2021, during the BRS regime, the U5MR data registered a significant drop to 22 in Telangana State, compared to the country-wide average U5MR data of 31.

Top health indicators in TS:

Important comparison between 2015-15 and 2022-23: (Telangana State during BRS regime)

MMR (2014-15) – 92; (2022-23) – 45 (SRS-2021 Special MMR bulletin)

IMR (2014-15)-39; (2022-23)-20 (SRS-2021)

Under 5 Mortality Rate: (2014-15)-41; (2021-22) 22 (SRS-2021)

Maternal Mortality Rate: Comparison data with states: (MMR Special Bulletin 2021)

(MMR): Telangana (45), Andhra Pradesh (46), Karnataka (63), Tamilnadu (49) Kerala (20) Bihar (100) Uttar Pradesh (151) Gujarat (53) Madhya Pradesh (175) Chhattisgarh (132): India average (93) and South average (47)

Infant Mortality Rate (IMR):

Telangana (20) Andhra Pradesh (22) Karnataka (17) Tamilnadu (12) Kerala (06) Bihar (27) Uttar Pradesh (37) Gujarat (21) Madhya Pradesh (41) Chhattisgarh (38) India average: (27)

Under5 Mortality Rate (U5MR):

Telangana (22) Andhra Pradesh (24) Karnataka (21) Tamilnadu (14) Kerala (08) Bihar (31) Uttar Pradesh (43) Gujarat (24) Madhya Pradesh (49) Chhattisgarh (41) India (31)