Experts from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), who studied the situation in southernmost Mizoram's Saiha district where Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) is extremely high, said lack of awareness and extensive consumption of tobacco products were the main reasons for high incidence of infant deaths.
An official statement today said the ICMR team submitted its findings to the state health minister Lal Thanzara in which it was mentioned that there were still some pregnant women who neglected visits to health sub-centres and other health facilities.
The team also was of the opinion that the people in the district were very low in sanitation and were drinking unclean water.
"Lack of awareness about health issues among the people of the district was one of the main reasons behind high IMR," the report said.
State health department officials said while Mizoram's IMR was lower than the national IMR, in Saiha district the rate used to be much higher than the national average.
