Focus: GS-II Governance
Why in news?
Analysis of data shows that less than one out of five deaths in India is medically certified to denote cause of death.
Details
- Deaths with medical certification of the cause were the lowest with a mere 2.5% of estimated deaths in Jharkhand, followed by just over 3% in Uttar Pradesh and then 4.7% in Bihar.
- This assumes greater significance at a time when a debate is raging on whether Covid-19 deaths are being accurately counted.
- The problem in states such as Bihar, UP and Jharkhand is two-fold – a low level of deaths registrations and a low proportion of even registered deaths being certified for cause.
- Of those registered, only one in seven was certified for cause of death, according to the report on Medical Certification of Cause of Death (MCCD).
- Over 50 years after passing legislation to make registration of births and deaths compulsory, while the registration of deaths has reached 86% of the estimated deaths, certification remains low.
- The Civil Registration System (CRS) report shows that just over one-third of deaths happened in hospitals, hence only 1/3rd were covered under MCCD scheme.
-Source: Times of India
