Infant mortality in Karnataka –an overview

Infant Mortality Rate is one of the indicators of development of anation. The rate of child death in a country reflects the health standardsof people. Most of the developing countries of East Africa and Asiahave the lowest HDI which reflect the high infant mortality rate.Similarly, India being a developing country has a higher IMR. However,IMR in India has declined from more than 50 per 1000 before 2005 toless than 50 in the recent years. However the IMR varies from state tostate particularly southern states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu andKarnataka which have lower IMR which indicate a better standard ofliving. Karnataka state has 35 per 1000 births which is better thanmany states in the country. However, there are regional disparities inIMR particularly in the districts like Gulbarga, Raichur, Koppal,Bagalkot and Bidar which have higher IMR than the southern districtsof Karnataka. This regional disparity is attributed to social, economicand religious issues. Despite the regional disparities, Karnataka hasthe lowest IMR next only to Kerala state illustrating comparatively betterhealth profile of the population. In the last five years there has been asharp decline in the Infant Mortality Rate