Can Maharashtra meet child mortality target by 2011?

Mumbai: Dec 20, 2010

Four years ago, alarmed by the level of child mortality in Maharashtra, the Bombay High Court directed the State government to “ensure that by September 30, 2011, the infant mortality rate due to malnutrition is brought down to almost nil in tribal as well as non-tribal areas.” Just nine months left, the State is nowhere close to meeting this target. According to official estimates, the State's infant mortality rate is 33, just two points down from 35 in 2006, the year when the court issued the order. Whereas, malnutrition affects 40 per cent of Maharashtra's children aged below six.

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