West Bengal outperforms other states in child health, owing to the hospitals and government’s efforts

India records the highest number of deaths of children under the age of five deaths in the world. Tackling the health of newborns has always remained a formidable challenge. However, lately, with the addressal of major factors of child mortality, along with preventive measures against common diseases, like diarrhoea, pneumonia, measles and influenza in hospital births, the number of child deaths has reduced significantly.

Recently, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in collaboration with UNICEF conducted a nationwide survey on the nutritional status of Indian kids and adolescents. The result showed West Bengal ahead of several other states in a number of key performance indicators. Additionally, on certain aspects of child nutrition, the state is performing better even than the national average.

Health experts at AMRI Hospitals remarked that this can be attributed to the endeavours by various hospitals and healthcare service providers, whether it is through providing comprehensive child care facilities or spreading awareness on the precautionary measures against viral diseases.
Furthermore, Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey was also conducted to collect data on nutritional status of Indian children (0-19 years) and the changing condition of issues related to malnutrition and obesity.
Studies have revealed that Bengal has had a significant drop in the number of children below 5 years with stunted growth. The percentage of underweight kids under 5 years of age and vitamin A and iron deficiency among the kids 0-19 years have also plummeted.

Stunting of growth in the early years can have a grave impact on the health as well as cognitive development of a child. While the condition is irreversible, various chronic diseases that come with it can be treated early on. In order to enhance the children’s (with stunted growth) quality of life and prevent them from falling sick often which can lead to missing schools, medical units like AMRI Hospitals, along with their team of medical professionals, are doing their best to ensure that children across various age groups receive the best possible care and treatment.

AMRI Hospital Mukundapur, among the best child hospitals in Kolkata, offers all-inclusive child care and treatment: emergency retrieval service for sick neonates and children, uro-nephro care, treatment for pediatric cardiac patients, etc.
In response to the recent findings, Shashi Panja, minister of the West Bengal State, said that this showed that the state government’s sustained efforts in providing the right nutrition to children at grassroots level.