Child health in India represents a critical area of public health, reflecting the nation's socio-economic progress and the efficacy of its healthcare systems. While India has made significant strides in reducing child mortality over the last few decades, it continues to face substantial challenges, including high rates of malnutrition, neonatal complications, and regional disparities in healthcare access. Key Health Indicators Child Mortality Rates - India has seen a consistent decline in the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and the Under-Five Mortality Rate (U5MR). Neonatal Mortality Rate - 17 per 1000 live births (2024) Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) - 25 per 1,000 live births (2023) U5MR - 27 per 1,000 live births (2024). The majority of these deaths are concentrated in the neonatal period (the first 28 days of life). Neonatal Health - Factors such as preterm birth, birth asphyxia, and neonatal sepsis are the primary drivers affecting neonatal health. Improving institutional delivery and postnatal care has been a core focus of recent government policy to address these issues. Nutritional Status (as per NFHS-5 (2019-21)) Stunting - 35.5% of children in India are estimated to be stunted. The prevalence of stunting is higher in rural areas (37.3%) as compared to urban areas (30.1%), and is slightly more common among male children (36.2 %) than female children (34.6%). Among the States, Meghalaya records the highest prevalence of stunting (46.5%), followed by Bihar (42.9%), Uttar Pradesh (39.7%), Jharkhand (39.6%), Gujarat (39.0%), and Madhya Pradesh (35.7%). Wasting - 19.3% of children are found to be afflicted by wasting in the country. And similar to the case of stunting, wasting is also seen to be more prevalent in Rural areas (19.5%) than Urban (18.5%) and in male children (20%) than female (18.5%). At the state level, the highest prevalence of wasting is reported in Maharashtra (25.6%), followed by Gujarat (25.1%), Bihar (22.9%), and Jharkhand (22.4%). Underweight - 32.1 % of children in India are underweight, with 33.8% underweight children in Rural area as compared to Urban area which is having 27.3% underweight children. In the country, 32.9% of male and 31.2% of female children are underweight. Bihar is seen to be having the highest percentage of underweight children (41%) and Mizoram is having the least proportion 47 % of the children aged 6-23 months living with their mothers were fed with Vitamin A rich food and 20.6% received iron rich food in past 24 hours of the day of survey. Vaccination - 76.5% of children aged 12-23 months had received all basic vaccinations at any time before the survey. The percentage was a little higher in rural areas with 76.8% of children with all basic vaccines than in urban areas (75.5%). Coverage was highest for the BCG vaccine (95.2%) and lowest for the third dose of polio vaccine (80.5%) Major Causes of Mortality inchildren In the neonatal period (below 29 days), mortality is predominantly driven by perinatal conditions such as prematurity and low birth weight, birth asphyxia, and pneumonia, which together account for more than 70% of deaths. Among infants (below 1 year), these causes continue to dominate. In the 1-4-year age group, the mortality burden shifts, with injuries emerging as the leading cause, while pneumonia and diarrhocal discases remain prominent alongside other infections and parasitic diseases. For children aged 5-14 years, unintentional injuries (both motor vehicle-related and other accidents) become the foremost causes, followed by respiratory infections. Overall, the data reflects a transition from perinatal and infectious causes in early childhood to injuries and emerging non-communicable diseases in older children, underscoring the need for age-specific health interventions. Government Policies and Initiatives Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) - Launched in 1975, ICDS is one of the world’s largest programs for early childhood care and development. It provides food, preschool education, primary healthcare, and immunization to children under six years of age and their mothers. National Health Mission (NHM) - The NHM, particularly its sub-mission the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), has been instrumental in strengthening rural healthcare infrastructure. It promotes institutional deliveries through schemes like Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY). POSHAN Abhiyaan - The Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nourishment (POSHAN) Abhiyaan aims to reduce stunting, under-nutrition, and anemia among young children, women, and adolescent girls through a multi-ministerial convergence mission. Related resources Children in India 2025 National Family Health Surveys