New Delhi, Jan 2 (IANS): The Cabinet was on Wednesday apprised of the progress and new initiatives under National Health Mission (NHM) such as a decline by 2.7 per cent in the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) to 130 during 2014-16 from 178 during 2010-12.

"Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) declined to 34 in 2016 as compared to 44 in 2011. The annual rate of decline of IMR between 2015 and 2018 was 8.1 per cent; decline in the Under 5 Mortality Rate (U5MR) to 39 in 2016 from 55 in 2011. The U5MR annual rate of decline during 2015-16 was 9.3 per cent," it said in a statement.

The decline in the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) to 2.3% in 2016, from 2.3% in 2011. The percentage annual compound rate of decline in TFR during 2011-16 has been observed as 1.7%.

Various diseases-related health indicators have also shown improvement, such as in malaria, the Annual Parasite Incidence (API) declined to 0.84 in 2016 from 1.10 in 2011. In 2017 malaria incidence went down by 30 per cent and deaths due to malaria decreased by 70 per cent.

"The incidence of Tuberculosis (TB) per 1 lakh population has been reduced to 204 in 2017, from 234 in 2013. Incidence of TB per lakh population has been reduced to 204 in 2017 from 211 in 2016. Mortality due to TB per lakh population for India reduced to 21 in 2017 from 32 in 2016," it stated.

The number of districts that achieved elimination of leprosy has increased from 554 in 2017 to 571 by March 2018 and incidence of Kala Azar was to reduce it to less than 1 case per 10,000 population in all blocks.

Reduction of diseases attributable to tobacco use, like 4 major Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) namely cancers, diabetes, stroke and cardiovascular diseases, and chronic lung diseases has been achieved through measures for bringing down prevalence of tobacco use by 6 per cent average points, to 28.6 per cent in 2016-17 from 34.6 per cent in 2009-10.