India has set itself a challenging target to reduce maternal mortality rate to 70 per 1000 live births, and for neonatal and under-five to 12 and 25 per 1,000 births respectively, under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved over the next 15 years. The consensus over the new targets was achieved within the government in a recent meeting of the health ministry and other concerned departments, an official source said. India will present the new targets, which will replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), in the upcoming United Nations General Assembly session scheduled next month.
India's infant mortality rate (IMR) is currently 40 per 1000 live births as against the target set by MDG of 27 by 2015 end. Under-5 mortality rate is 49 compared to the MDG target of 42. The maternal mortality rate is 167 per 1,00,000 births as against the MDG goal of 109 by the end of…
