Child Mortality Rate Drops By Record 39 Points In Odisha

Bhubaneswar: In another milestone in healthcare sector in Odisha, child mortality rate has dropped by record 39 points in 15 years.

This was revealed by chief minister Naveen Patnaik at a review meeting on ‘Mo Sarkar’ initiative of the state government in Bhubaneswar on Thursday. Naveen said the child mortality rate has dropped to 36 per 1,000 deliveries in the state.

The drop of child mortality by 39 points in 15 years between 2005 and 2020 is the highest in the country, he said. Congratulating the departments concerned for the achievement, he advised for setting more milestones in future.

Stating that ‘Mo Sarkar’ that was launched two years back on October 2, 2019 has been successful in bringing transparency in state administration, he said it has emerged as a role model for other states.

Naveen said the feedback from the people at grassroots level on ‘Mo Sarkar’ has been very encouraging. “It has been revealed from my interaction with people that they are happy with behavioural changes brought by the initiative in the employees of different departments. I am happy that government employees are rendering services honestly and sincerely to the people,” he added.

The activities of six departments including Home, Health and Family Welfare, Forest and Environment, Industries, MSME and Water Resources were reviewed at the meeting.

Speaking at the meeting, secretary, Electronics and IT department Manoj Mishra said total 250 services are rendered by 31 departments under ‘Mo Sarkar’ with inclusion of 3 new departments.

Chief secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra, 5T secretary VK Pandian and other senior officers participated in the discussion during the meeting.