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Global Health Issues, Policy, and Healthcare Delivery
The infant mortality rate in India is estimated to be 27 deaths per 1,000 live births (Bhatia et al., 2019). In contrast, China has fewer infant mortality rates than India, with only 9.04 deaths per 1,000 live births (Zhao, 2019). Although China has significantly lower infant mortality rates than India, such rates are still high compared to other developing countries such as Belarus, Montenegro, Cuba, Serbia, and Russia (Zhao, 2019). The leading causes of the high infant mortality rate in India include neonatal infections, prematurity, low birth weight, birth trauma, and birth asphyxia (Bhatia et al., 2019). In addition, in India, women who prefer to deliver their babies in traditional setups are also likely to be disproportionately affected by infant mortality cases compared to women who deliver their babies in health care centers. Circumstances of birth trauma and birth asphyxia are therefore reported among women who bear children at home assisted by traditional midwives in the Indian setup compared to those who bear their children in a modern healthcare facility (Bhatia et al., 2019).
On the other hand, China’s leading causes of infant mortality include infectious and parasitic diseases, perinatal diseases, accidents, and congenital anomalies. It is evident that the leading causes of infant mortality that are similar between China and India include congenital anomalies, which include prematurity and low birth weight (Zhao, 2019). In India and China, low birth weight and prematurity conditions increase the chances of congenital anomalies, contributing significantly to infant mortality. Infectious diseases are also a common cause of infant mortality in India and China. One of the main differences in the leading contributors to infant mortality in China and India is that Chinese children are more likely to succumb to perinatal diseases and accidents compared to Indian children (Zhao, 2019).
Regarding infant mortality, the cultural influences of both Indian and Chinese people will play a significant role because of cultural influences and beliefs of health care practices and traditional medicine. The Chinese traditional medicine and Indian traditional medicine practices will therefore affect the susceptibility of Indian and Chinese children to infant mortality.
On the other hand, the leading health issues related to nutrition In India include vitamin D-related deficiency, protein-related nutritional problems, iron-related nutritional problems, vitamin B12 deficiency, iodine deficiency, and vitamin A deficiency. This is because Indian culture emphasizes a vegetarian diet and less consumption of meat, which can expose the general population to vitamin B12 deficiency and protein-related nutrition problems (Bhatia et al., 2019). In contrast, the nutritional problems in China include malnourishment, stunting in children, and over weightiness. The nutrition problem in China appears to be on the extreme side of the spectrum in that there is a population that does not receive adequate nutrition in China. In contrast, another section of the population is overweight. (Zhao, 2019). The main similarity in the nutritional problems between India and China is that both India and China have a population of people who are malnourished and who do not consume the required macro and micro nutrients in their diet on a day-to-day basis. On the other hand, the main difference between the nutritional health issues between India and China is that India does not have a problem with overweight. In contrast, China has a significant problem with overweight and obesity.
References
Bhatia, M., Dwivedi, L. K., Ranjan, M., Dixit, P., & Putcha, V. (2019). Trends, patterns and predictive factors of infant and child mortality in well-performing and underperforming states of India: Secondary analysis using National Family Health Surveys. BMJ Open, 9(3), e023875. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-023875
Zhao, Z. (2019). Infant mortality and life expectancy in China. Medical Science Monitor, 20, 379–385. https://doi.org/10.12659/msm.890204
