In India, 309,300 babies a year die on their first day - Women's Agenda

In India, 309,300 babies a year die on their first day

Many more babies die on the first and only day of their lives in India than any other country, according to a new report by aid and development agency Save the Children International.

India leads the rest of the world by a long way with 309,300 deaths a year, making up a 29% share of the world’s first-day deaths. Nigeria is the second highest country for first-day deaths, with 89,700 first-day deaths recorded.

Maternal health is also a critical health concern in India, with the country also leading the world in maternal deaths, reporting 56,000 deaths a year.

Reducing child mortality and improving maternal health are two of the eight Millennium Development goals, which are used to provide a framework for funding, research and projects to achieve sustainable development across the world.

Some progress with these Millennium Goals has been achieved, including reducing infant mortality by two thirds, with the UN reporting the death rate has declined from 12.4 million deaths of children under five in 1990 to 6.9 million in 2011.

Despite this promising statistic, which mean 14,000 fewer children are dying every day, the percentage of these deaths that is made up with the deaths of babies younger than a month is growing.

Maternal mortality has almost halved since 1990 due to a wide range of programs including training and supporting midwives in rural areas of developing countries. A release from the United Nations Population Fund in May 2013 stressed the importance of midwives for achieving broader development goals.

“We urge all nations to work together to address the inequalities and inaccessibility of midwifery services,” the report started. “We encourage them to support quality training, innovative technologies and an enabling environment for midwives to match the vital role they play in communities and societies, especially in developing countries.”

According to the World Food Programme, women are the world’s primary food gatherers, but cultural and social traditions mean they are usually more affected by poverty and hunger than men. Malnourishment, especially low iron, is a major cause of maternal death, with 315,000 women dying each year from hemmorhages during childbirth.

According to WFP, maternal health and education has a direct flow on benefits for life expectancy, the earning capacity of their children, community cooperation and resilience.

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