The Hindu : New Delhi News : Woman, child well-being survey shows disparities

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Friday, Sep 08, 2006

New Delhi

New Delhi

Woman, child well-being survey shows disparities

Special Correspondent

Intervention should be at district-level and below, says Vasan

NEW DELHI : Releasing the results of the `Survey on well-being of Children and Women' for 43 districts of the country here on Thursday, Minister of Statistics and Programme Implementation G.K. Vasan said the nation was committed to achieving the targets set out in the millennium development goals, especially those concerning the well-being of women and children. It was no more relevant to discuss the status of children and women at the nation-level or State-level. Going down to the district-level and below was required for making a meaningful intervention for improving their lot, he said.

The baseline survey showed striking disparities. While in Gaya district of Bihar and Lalitpur district of Uttar Pradesh only five per cent of children were fully immunised, it was over 90 per cent in Tumkur district (Karnataka).

Again within Karnataka, Raichur district could fully immunise only 23 per cent of children. In the tribal districts of West Singhbhum (Jharkhand), Dangs (Gujarat) and Koraput (Orissa), less than 10 per cent of childbirths took place in institutions, while the percentage of institutional deliveries was 84 per cent in Tiruvellore (Tamil Nadu). In Rajasthan's Tonk district the percentage of girls, below 18 years, married was about 80 per cent, while it was only 13 per cent in Assam's Dibrugarh district for the same age group.

The survey, conducted in 43 focal districts in 14 States, is part of Government of India and UNICEF Country Programme of Cooperation Cycle of 2003-07, as also the National Sample Survey Organisation . The data was collected between March and May in 2005. The survey covered a wide range of topics, namely village infrastructure and service facilities — sanitation, hygiene and drinking water, besides health of children and mothers, schooling and educational attainment of children, especially girl's education, child protection and knowledge, aptitude and practices about Reproductive Track Infections/Sexually Transmitted Infections and HIV/AIDS.

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