As many as 4,872 infants died in Maharashtra between April and October this year at a daily average of 23 deaths, said State Health Minister Tanaji Sawant while speaking in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday.
Mr. Sawant said that 16% among these infants (795) had died owing to breathing-related ailments.
The majority of the deaths were reported in Mumbai city and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) region of Thane, as well as Solapur, Akola and Nandurbar districts.
The Minister said this in a written reply to a query by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Sachin Kalyanshetti during question hour on the last day of the Winter Session of the State Legislature.
“4,872 infants have died in Maharashtra during April to October this year. The age of the infants who died were between 0-28 days. Going by the figures, an average 23 infants died daily,” said Mr. Sawant.
He informed that 52 special neonatal care rooms are currently functional in Maharashtra.
“All the ailing infants receive medication, tests and transportation free of cost in government hospitals,” Mr. Sawant said.
The issue of infant mortality had already come up earlier during the Assembly session.
Mr. Sawant had said that a committee would be formed to probe this serious matter while attributing high casualty rates to an acute scarcity of amenities at civic hospitals including intensive care units (ICU) and a paucity of medical officers at these hospitals.
