New Delhi, Sep 20 : Is the  latest claim by the Union Health Ministry is actually true? The sixth Millennium Development Goal of halting and reversing the incidence of malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS has been achieved, the Health Ministry informed the Union Cabinet today.

While apprising the Cabinet of the progress under the National Health Mission (NHM), the ministry stated the that  TB mortality rate (per 1,00,000 population) is down from 40 in 2010 to 36 in 2015.

The ministry claims that less people are being infected by TB as well. TB cases per 1,00,000 population has come down from 289 (per lakh) in 2000 to 247 in 2010 and to 217 in 2015.

The annual prevalence and mortality from TB have been reduced to half from 1990, an official statement said.

Malaria has declined from 1.10 (per thousand population) in 2011 to 0.84 in 2016.

The 12th plan target with respect to malaria has been achieved and the annual parasite incidence (API) has been kept below 1 case per 1,000 population, the statement said.

Leprosy prevalence rate at the national level per 10,000 population has been reduced from 0.68 as on March 31, 2012 to 0.66 on March 31. By March 2017, 556 districts had achieved the 12th plan target.

As far as Kala Azar is concerned, number of endemic blocks with prevalence more than one case of the disease per 10,000 population was 230 in 2010. It has been brought down to 94 blocks in 2016.

The ministry further claims that the under five mortality rate (U5MR) declined from 59 in 2010 to 43 in 2015. Percentage annual rate of decline during 2010-2015 has accelerated to 6.1 from 3.7 per cent observed during 1990- 2010.

India is likely to have achieved the fourth Millennium Development Goal of U5MR at the present rate of decline, the statement said.

It further said that the maternal mortality ratio (number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births) declined from 178 during 2010-12 to 167 during 2011-13 while the infant mortality rate (number of deaths of children less than one year of age per 1,000 live births) has declined from 39 in the year 2014 to 37 in 2015.

The total fertility rate (TFR) declined from 2.5 in 2010 to 2.3 in 2015. Presently, it is 2.2 as per NFHS 2015-16.

“We are likely to achieve the 12th Five Year Plan target for TFR of 2.1 by 2017,” the statement said.

The ministry also apprised the Cabinet about the programmes implemented by it which include rollout of new vaccines, launch of initiatives like free drugs and diagnostics and Kayakalp- an initiative for award to public health facilities, family planning and mother and child tracking system (MCTS) and revised national TB control programme.

The claims of the Ministry on reduction in HIV and AIDS have not been reported in the media so far.

  health, Sustainable Development Goals, United Nations