India’s success in reducing child mortality deserves public attention. According to the United Nations’s Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation 2025 Report, India recorded a 41% decline in under-five mortality and a 37% decline in neonatal mortality between 2014 and 2024 — more than double the corresponding global figures of 18% and 15%, respectively. This is a significant achievement as it brings India closer to meeting key child-survival targets ahead of schedule. The UN Sustainable Development Goal targets for Under-five Mortality Rate and Neonatal Mortality Rate are 25 and 12, per 1000 live births. India recorded a UFMR of 28 per 1,000 live births and an NMR of 18 per 1,000 live births already in 2024, the Sample Registration System showed. The achievement is especially noteworthy also because of the complexity of the challenge. India must deliver healthcare to a vast and diverse population spread across remote rural regions, densely populated urban settlements as well as to socio-economically vulnerable communities. Improvements in child survival, therefore, reflect years of investment in public health infrastructure, maternal care, immunisation and nutrition rather than the success of any single programme. Particularly important has been the recognition that the prospects of child health begins long before birth.

The sixth — latest — National Family Health Survey bears evidence of the progress. India’s institutional deliveries increased from 88.6% in 2019-21 to 90.6% in 2023-24, while births attended by skilled health personnel rose to 91.3%. Full immunisation coverage climbed from 76.6% to 82.6% during the same period. The expansion of rotavirus vaccination has strengthened protection against one of the leading causes of childhood illness and death. Better antenatal care and improvements in nutritional indicators have made a difference as well. There is, however, no room for complacency. National averages often conceal deep regional disparities. Access to quality healthcare remains uneven, while malnutrition, poverty and inadequate sanitation pose challenges. The gains achieved over the past decade can only be sustained through continued investment in public health systems and by ensuring that the benefits reach the disadvantaged segments.