TN govt to reduce IMR to below 13, says State Health Minister

Chennai, Aug 18: The Tamil Nadu government today said it was committed to reducing the state's Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) to below 13 by the year 2017, as against the "current level" of 20 per 1000 live births.

"The current level of IMR in Tamil Nadu for the year 2014 is 20 per 1,000 live births as per the Sample Registration System (SRS) survey (2014)," Health and Family Welfare Minister C Vijayabaskar informed the state Assembly. The state ranked second lowest in this regard among the major states in the country, he said.

"IMR, death of children before the age of one year per 1,000 births, is a sensitive indicator of health and nutritional status of the population," Vijayabaskar said.

"The government of Tamil Nadu is committed to reducing the IMR to below 13 by the year 2017, and bring it on par with developed nations by the year 2023," he added. The government was taking "multi-pronged" efforts to bring down IMR by focusing on components like neo-natal mortality rate, Vijayabaskar said.

He said government had sanctioned establishment of a Research and Development Wing exclusively for Indian Systems of Medicine at a cost of Rs 12 crore. This was part of efforts to strengthen the Indian systems of medicine, he added.

PTI