New Delhi: With an incremental growth of 0.13 points, Odisha has ranked among the least improved states in the NITI Aayog’s fourth edition of the State Health Index for 2019-20, released Monday. The state also saw the steepest decline of two positions. Odisha slipped to 14th position in the fourth edition while it was ranked 12 in the base year, 2018-19.
Odisha has been ranked as the least improved state among the aspirants along with Bihar, Uttarakhand, Pondicherry and Andaman & Nicobar while Rajasthan, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh recorded negative incremental performance. UP and Assam were placed as the most improved states among the aspirants.
In the report titled “Healthy States, Progressive India”, Odisha recorded a decline in the sex ratio at birth from 953 in 2014 to 933 in 2018. The state also witnessed the lowest average occupancy of the District Chief Medical Officer of 5.2 months for a three-year period between 2017 and 2020. It also registered the highest decline of -47.9 per cent in average occupancy of district CMO positions.
With the decline of 1 and 3 in the Neonatal Mortality Rate and Under-Five Mortality Rate respectively, Odisha was placed in the category of aspirants in the NITI Aayog’s health index. Odisha was ranked an achiever in terms of Maternal Mortality Ratio with the decline of 18 from 2018-19 to 2019-20. Significantly, the
State Health Index is an annual tool to assess the performance of states and UTs. It is a weighted composite index based on 24 indicators grouped under the domains of ‘Health Outcomes’, ‘Governance and Information’, and ‘Key Inputs/Processes’.
