Madhya Pradesh government Monday admitted in the state assembly that on an average 30,000 children die of various diseases in the state every year.

Replying to a question from Congress legislator Mahendra Singh Kalukheba, Madhya Pradesh Health Minister Anoop Mishra said that out of these 30,000, 60 percent are malnourished children who are more prone to infections that cause diseases like malaria, pneumonia and measles.

According to the minister, while 29,274 children died in the state during the year 2008-09, in 2007-08 the figure stood at 30,397. Similarly, the number of children who died was 32,188 and 30,563 in 2006-07 and 2005-06 respectively.

The minister said the main reasons leading to malnutrition in a child were early pregnancy, premature birth of a child, low weight at birth, poor feeding, discontinuity of breast feeding before six months. These need to be curbed and the government was making efforts towards the same, he said.

Mishra said that the government was running 200 nutritional rehabilitation centres to cater to the requirements of malnourished children and plans to open another 25 in the next financial year

In Indian Express in Delhi

MP govt admits: 71 kids died daily since 2005, crores returned unspent

Admitting to the highest infant mortality rate in the country, Madhya Pradesh today said that 130,233 children died in the state before attaining the age of five between 2005 and 2009.

During the same period, the state received Rs 1601.80 crore in grants from the Centre under the National Rural Health Mission which includes the Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) programme that seeks to reduce infant and maternal mortality rates besides attempting to reduce the total fertility rate. Under RCH, the state government made a budgetary provision of Rs 65.06 crore between 2005 and 2010 but spent only Rs 37.96 crore.

Public Health Minister Anoop Mishra presented these figures while responding to questions in the Assembly. Between 2005 and 2008, the infant death toll was 122,422 but the ratio improved thereafter with the state reporting 7,811 deaths between January 2008 and December 2009. In the four critical years, Satna district reported 7,257 deaths while Chhatarpur and Balaghat lost 6,542 and 5,666 children. Shivpuri, Guna, Rewa, Shahdol and Sidhi were among the districts with high mortality rates.

Mishra said 70 children lost their lives per 1,000 live births but this was an improvement over 2001-2002 when the ratio was 86 deaths: 1000 live births. He attributed malnourishment to early marriages and early pregnancies; underweight children; absence of complete immunisation; failure of mothers to only breast-feed infants up to six months and give them nutritional food later; infection; and, poverty.

Pioneer - Bhopal

60 % infants die of malnutrition in State, Govt admits in House

Staff Reporter | Bhopal

The State Government on Monday admitted in the State Assembly that 60 per cent infants die of malnutrition in the State. It also accepted that a total of 7,811 cases of infant mortality have been reported from January 2008 to December 2009 due to various diseases including malaria, pneumonia, diarrhoea and measles.

Public Health and Family Welfare Minister Anoop Mishra while replying to a question of Mahendra Singh Kalukheda (Congress) informed the House that the work of formulating the State's health policy was underway and that child marriages was one of the main reasons for malnutrition in newborn babies in the State.

Kalukheda had wanted to know whether it was true that as per the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3) over 60 per cent children of the State were victims of malnutrition, and if this was true than what were the reasons for the malnutrition and whether it was true that the malnourished children easily became victims of malaria, pneumonia, diarrhoea and measles.

Mishra in his reply informed that the Government of India had formulated the National Health Scheme in 2002, in which a proposal to include State-level activities were included in the year 2004, and for implementing this a strategy document was prepared in the year 2007 with the support of DFID and according to that the implementation scheme was in process.

The Health Minister in his reply said that the main reasons of malnutrition in the children included child marriages of mother, pregnancy immediately after marriage, lesser weight of infant, incomplete immunisation, breast feed not provided for six months, nutritious supplementary food not provided at right time, infections and weak economical position.

The Minister further informed that a total of 7,811 cases of infant deaths have been reported from January 2008 to December 2009 due to various diseases including malaria, pneumonia, diarrhoea and measles. He also informed that as per the new WHO guidelines periodic weighing of children was done.

He said that 200 nutrition centres were being run in the State and 25 new centres were proposed for the year 2010- 11