BANGALORE: While Gulbarga district has been in the news for a spike in infant deaths in the last three months, Belgaum has seen the most number of infant deaths in Karnataka over the past year. From March 2013 to April 2014, 86,931 live births were reported from Belgaum district. Of them, 1,003 infants died within a year, according to data from the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).
The 2011 census says the population of Belgaum district is about 47.8 lakh.
The situation in Dharwad and Raichur is equally distressing. In the same period, Dharwad recorded 990 infant deaths for 34,863 live births and Raichur 928 infant deaths for 35,110 live births. Though NRHM has identified eight areas in the state as high-risk, it is ironic that Belgaum and Dharwad do not figure in it. Pankaja Kalmath of the Karnataka Integrated Development Services, an NGO, said the overall quality of healthcare in various districts was poor.
“The main reasons are poor nutrition provided for pregnant women, corruption in government hospitals and unhygienic environments. In Dharwad and Raichur, child marriages are rampant and lead to unhealthy mothers,” she said.
District health officers, however, don’t admit the situation is bad. They cite low birth weight, mothers coming to hospitals at a terminal stage, malnutrition, sepsis, asphyxia and vector-borne diseases for the deaths.
“The infant mortality rate in Dharwad is 18 (ie, 18 deaths per 1,000 live births). We have patients from eight other districts coming to us, which reflects on the statistics. Of the 990 deaths, 625 pertain to Dharwad district, while the other 365 babies are from outside,” Dr N M Angadi, Dharwad District Health Officer, told Express. The current infant mortality rate in Karnataka is 38, and Dharwad stands at 18. “We are doing quite well in this regard,” said Angadi, adding that measures instituted by NRHM, like timely immunisation and malnutrition prevention, are being followed on a routine basis.
According to Dr Saroja Tigade, the reproductive and child health officer of Belgaum, the infant mortality in her district stands at 12.
“Belgaum is a big district, and while other districts might have a low population and a high infant mortality rate, it is not the case here. We are doing well when compared to the others,” she said.
Dr K Vijaya of the Raichur health department said the infant mortality rate in the district now stands at 27.
“The main reasons for infant deaths are sepsis, asphyxia and low birth weight and anaemic mothers. There are also some cases of congenital heart disease and pneumonia,” she said.
She is worried five taluks are served by just one paediatrician, and maintained that Raichur is one of the high-priority areas identified by NRHM for low health indicators. “For anaemic mothers, we are giving iron and folic acid capsules. We are also taking measures to control malnutrition,” she said.