Reaching beyond the Sustainable Development Goals targets: unfolding Kerala’s feat in reducing infant mortality rate

Abstract

The state of Kerala has recorded the lowest infant mortality rate (IMR) in India, with just 5 deaths per 1,000 live births, according to the Sample Registration System (SRS) report for 2023. The state has steadily improved, unmatched by other states and UTs, while reducing urban-rural inequalities. This news spread rapidly in both electronic and social media, with varied appreciation and analysis. Given the important role social media and electronic media play in extracting the information, especially on nuanced, socially relevant issues, we adopted a qualitative study design to identify key factors contributing to this remarkable achievement and extract major insights to propose a replicable framework. The emerging themes and subthemes were then presented using the proximate and distal determinants framework. Targeted neonatal care, robust grassroots-level infrastructure, high female literacy, effective community outreach and health education emerged as the key approaches adopted. This remarkable feat highlights the role of a robust, evidence-based policy approach aimed at improving key social determinants of health.