UNICEF warns India, economic growth can't guarantee improved child survival, ranks it worse than B'desh, Nepal

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned that despite India’s “fast lane for global economic growth” it has been in “the slower lane for child mortality reduction”, insisting, countries like India and Nigeria should learn that the crucial “policy lesson: economic growth can help but does not guarantee improved child survival, and a country’s income need not hinder progress.”
In a just released report, “The State of the World's Children 2016: A fair chance for every child”, the report ranks India 48th with an under 5 infant mortality rate (U5IMR) of 48 out of 1,000 children born. The country which tops the list is Angola having an U5IMR of 157.
Ranking 96 countries, the report finds Pakistan a much poorer performer than India Pakistan, 22nd, with a U5IMR of 81. However two other neighbours are found to be better performers than India – Bangladesh, ranking 38th, has a U5IMR of 38, and Nepal 63rd with a U5IMR of 36.
“In India, being born into the poorest households carries a learning ‘penalty’ relative to children from the richest households”, the report underlines, adding, “The penalty widens between ages 7 and 11, reaching a 19 per cent gap in students’ ability to subtract.”
It insists, “When children face wealth-related disadvantages and have parents who did not attend school, there are powerful multiplier effects – especially for young girls. By age 11 in India, girls and boys who come from the richest homes and have educated parents enjoy a huge academic advantage over other children.”

Pointing out that India’s spending on education (3.9 per cent of the GDP) is less than the average of 4 per cent of GDP in low income group of countries, the report says, “India invested 3.9 per cent of its GDP in education”, while Pakistan reported spending about 2 per cent of GDP on education.” It adds, “These investment levels are below the estimated 5.5 per cent of GDP that will be required to provide education for all by 2030.”
“Globally, child deaths are highly concentrated”, the report says, adding, “In 2015, about 80 per cent of these deaths occurred in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, and almost half occurred in just five countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria and Pakistan.”

“Behind this global average is an array of diverse national patterns. For example, children born into the poorest 20 per cent are almost twice as likely to die during their first five years as those from the richest 20 per cent in Bangladesh and three times as likely in India, Indonesia and the Philippines”, the report notes.
“Five countries will account for more than half of the global burden of under-five deaths: India (17 per cent), Nigeria (15 per cent), Pakistan (8 per cent), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (7 per cent) and Angola (5 per cent)”, the report says.
Pointing out that the global target of “neonatal mortality rate of 12 deaths per 1,000 live births by 2030” is “bleak”, the report states, “Unless the trends change, dozens of countries will miss the mark by a wide margin. South Asia will not achieve the neonatal target until 2049 and sub-Saharan Africa will reach it after mid-century.
“The average annual rate of reduction in neonatal mortality required for India to reach the target is almost double the current level”, the report states. The neonatal mortality in India is 28 per 1,000 live births.

Comments

Dalit rights and political tensions: Why is Mevani at odds with Congress leadership?

While I have known Jignesh Mevani, one of the dozen-odd Congress MLAs from Gujarat, ever since my Gandhinagar days—when he was a young activist aligned with well-known human rights lawyer Mukul Sinha’s organisation, Jan Sangharsh Manch—he became famous following the July 2016 Una Dalit atrocity, in which seven members of a family were brutally assaulted by self-proclaimed cow vigilantes while skinning a dead cow, a traditional occupation among Dalits.

Powering pollution, heating homes: Why are Delhi residents opposing incineration-based waste management

While going through the 50-odd-page report Burning Waste, Warming Cities? Waste-to-Energy (WTE) Incineration and Urban Heat in Delhi , authored by Chythenyen Devika Kulasekaran of the well-known advocacy group Centre for Financial Accountability, I came across a reference to Sukhdev Vihar — a place where I lived for almost a decade before moving to Moscow in 1986 as the foreign correspondent of the daily Patriot and weekly Link .

Boeing 787 under scrutiny again after Ahmedabad crash: Whistleblower warnings resurface

A heart-wrenching tragedy has taken place in Ahmedabad. As widely reported, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane crashed shortly after taking off from the city’s airport, currently operated by India’s top tycoon, Gautam Adani. The aircraft was carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew members. As expected, the crash has led to an outpouring of grief across the country. At the same time, there have been demands for the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and the Civil Aviation Minister.

Ahmedabad's civic chaos: Drainage woes, waterlogging, and the illusion of Olympic dreams

In response to my blog on overflowing gutter lines at several spots in Ahmedabad's Vejalpur, a heavily populated area, a close acquaintance informed me that it's not just the middle-class housing societies that are affected by the nuisance. Preeti Das, who lives in a posh locality in what is fashionably called the SoBo area, tells me, "Things are worse in our society, Applewood."

Global NGO slams India for media clampdown during conflict, downplays Pakistan

A global civil rights group, Civicus has taken strong exception to how critical commentaries during the “recent conflict” with Pakistan were censored in India, with journalists getting “targeted”. I have no quarrel with the Civicus view, as the facts mentioned in it are all true.

Remembering Vijay Rupani: A quiet BJP leader who listened beyond party lines

Late evening on June 12, a senior sociologist of Indian origin, who lives in Vienna, asked me a pointed question: Of the 241 persons who died as a result of the devastating plane crash in Ahmedabad the other day, did I know anyone? I had no hesitation in telling her: former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, whom I described to her as "one of the more sensible persons in the BJP leadership."

Whither SCOPE? Twelve years on, Gujarat’s official English remains frozen in time

While writing my previous blog on how and why Narendra Modi went out of his way to promote English when he was Gujarat chief minister — despite opposition from people in the Sangh Parivar — I came across an interesting write-up by Aakar Patel, a well-known name among journalists and civil society circles.

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Why India’s renewable energy sector struggles under 2,735 compliance hurdles

Recently, during a conversation with an industry representative, I was told how easy it is to set up a startup in Singapore compared to India. This gentleman, who had recently visited Singapore, explained that one of the key reasons Indians living in the Southeast Asian nation prefer establishing startups there is because the government is “extremely supportive” when it comes to obtaining clearances. “They don’t want to shift operations to India due to the large number of bureaucratic hurdles,” he remarked.

Search This Blog