India's maternal mortality ratio has declined, more than 30 mothers' lives saved every day: Minister

Minister of State for Health Anupriya Patel on Thursday said that India's Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) has declined at an accelerated pace in the last few years indicating considerable progress in the area of women's health.

"Maternal mortality Ratio (MMR) is one such indicator which reflects this progress. India's MMR in the last few years has declined at an accelerated pace to reach 130 per one lakh live births in 2014-16. This means we save more than 30 mothers every day," Patel added.

The minister along with Health secretary Preeti Sudan also released a report on Breast Cancer Landscape in India during a seminar on "Women's Health Challenges, Access and Prevention" organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), here.

Patel further stated that under the National Health Mission (NHM) a "continuum of care" approach is employed to ensure the best possible health outcomes for women throughout their reproductive life-cycle.

"As a result of these interventions, institutional deliveries have risen to 78.9 per cent and more importantly, institutional births in public facilities have increased from 18 per cent to 52 per cent under NHM. In the rural areas, the out of pocket expenditure for childbirth in public health facilities has also decreased," she said.

--IANS

som/prs