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Focus 1995 Apri- June English |
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BULLETIN
OF POPULATION
FOUNDATION
OF INDIA
National Family Health Survey Throws New Light on
Fertility Trends and Family Planning Practices
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••• The Indian Total Fertility Rate of 3.4 for women aged 15-49 is the second lowest
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fertility rate in South Asia, though still much higher than the rates in several other
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Asian countries.
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••• Fertility peaked in the 20-24 yea~ age group and declined sharply after age 30;
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women in their 20s were responsible for almost 60 per cent of total fertility.
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••• Even though the knowledge of family planning is nearly universal, only 41 per
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cent women in the reproductive age-group use one orthe other method offamily
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planning.
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••• Although sterilisation is by far the most widely used method of contraception,
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there exists a great unmet demand for spacing methods.
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••• Women in the 35-39 age group reported the highest current use rate of
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contraception while it was much lower for the two highest-fertility age groups of 0
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20-24 and 25-29.
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0 T Contraceptive use increased dramatically with education and it was also
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strongly linked to the number of living children.
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These are some of the highlights of the National
Family Health Survey (NFHS), one of the most
comprehensive of its kind ever conducted in India.
Total fertility rates (TFR)were also calculated-the number
of children a woman would bear throughout her
. reproductive years at current age-specific fertility rates.
The Survey provides convincing evidence thatfertili ty has
The NFHS estimated an annual crude birth rate of
declined throughout the country although there are striking 28.9 per 1,000 population, based roughly on the period
differences among regions and individual States. (A brief from 1990 to 1992. This was very close to the recent
report on the NFHS appeared in the last issue of the 'Focus'). estimates of the Registrar General's Sample Registration
System' (SRS).The total fertility rate was 3.4 for women
Fertility Trends:
Wide Variations in Regions an States
aged 15-49,slightly lower than the SRS estimate of3.6 for
1991.Accord ing to these results, India has the second lowest
fertility rate in South Asia (after Sri Lanka), though still much
Fertility estimates were based on complete birth higher than rates in several other Asian countries, uiz. China,
histories collected from each respondent. Crude birth Thailand, Indonesia.
rates (CBR) were calculated from all
Fertilitypeakedin theZO-Z4 yearagegroup
SPOTLIGHT the live births that occurred during the
three-year period before the interview.
and declined sharply after age 3D-women
in their 20s were responsible for almost 60
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per cent of total fertility. Women in Contraceptive Use:
rural areas had on average one more
child (TFR 3.7) than women in the
Great Gap between
and 4per cent were using a traditional
method.
More women were using
cities (TFR 2.7), and there were wide Knowledge and
Practice variations among regions and states.
In general, fertility in South and "Vest
modern contraception in the cities (45
per cent) than in the rural areas (33
per cent). States reporting the highest
India was considerably below the
More than 40 years after India use of modern contraceptives were
national average. Keralahad achieved introduced its family planning Kerala, Himachal Pradesh,
below replacement level (TFR2), and programme, the NFHS found nearly Maharashtra, and Punjab, as well as
fertility was
Delhi - all at over 50
close
to
CURRENT USE OF MODERN CONTRACEPTIVES AMONG
per .cent. At the
replacement
CURRENTL Y MARRIED WOMEN AGED 13 - 49
other extreme,
level in Tamil
Nadu (TFR
2.48). At the
Method
Respondents currently usig method (%)
Urban
Rural
Total
current use rates
were less than 25
per cent in Uttar
other end of
Any modem method
45.3
33.1
36.3
Pradesh and Bihar
the spectrum,
the TFR in the
Female Sterilization
Male Sterilization
30.4
3.2
26.3
27.3
(the two most
3.5
3.4
populous States) as
populous state
Pill
1.9
0.9
1.2
well as Assam and
of Uttar Pra-
IUD
3.9
deshwas4.8-
Condom
5.8
more than 40
Injection
0.0
per cent above
Any traditional method
5.7
1.2
1.9
several small north-
1.2
2.4
eastern states.
0.0
0.0
Female sterili-
3.7
4.3
zation was by far the
the national
most widely used
average.
unversal knowledge of family method of contraception reported. Of all
planning: 96 per cent of all women using a modern method, 75
Widely Expressed
Desire for Child Spacing
respondents knew about at least one
modern or traditional contraceptive
method. Although knowledge was
per cent had been sterilized, and
another 9 per cent reported that their
husbands had been sterilized. OnlyS,
Thirty-one per cent of the slightly higher in urban areas (99 per
women interviewed reported that cent), even in rural areas 95 per cent of
they or their husbands had been respondents were familiarwitha t least
sterilized.
one method. Knowledge of
Another 26 per cent said they contraceptives was high everywhere
did not want any more_cbildr-en.--"f'tle ill the country except in the small
per cent were using a modern spacing
method - 12 per cent in urban areas
and 3 per cent in the countryside. The
major exception was Delhi, where
condoms were used by more couples
than female sterilization.
Survey confirms that the desire for
more children declined rapidly as the
number of living children increased.
Only 6per cent of women with four or
more children said they wanted
another child, compared with 8S per
cent of women with no children.
Many young married women.
expressed a desire to space their children.
north-eastern states.
Among modern methods,
women were most familiar with
female sterilization, closely followed
by male sterilization. About 60 per
cent were familiar with birth-control
pills, IUCDs (intrauterine devices), or
condoms; a much smaller number
knew aboutinjectable contraceptives.
Among five-year age groups,
women aged 35-39 reported the highest
curreniuseofcontraception (61 percent).
The current use rate was much lower
for the two highest fertility age
groups-21. per cent for women aged
20-24and 42per cent for women aged
25-29.
Cotraceptive use increased
More than one-third of those with no
Although knowledge of dramatically with education. Only 34
children said they wanted to wait at family planning was nearly per cent of illiterate women were
least two years before having their universal, fewer than one-half (47 using any contraceptive method,
first child, and nearly half bf those per cent) of the women interviewed compared with 49-55 per cent for all
with one child said they would like to had ever used a cotraceptive method: other education groups. This trend
wait at least two years before having 42 per cent had -used -a -modern was particularly strong in Uttar
their second. This widely expresseddeslre method, and 12 per cent had used a Pradesh, where only 16 per cent of
for child spacing has important policy traditional method such as periodic illiterate women used any method,
implications for the country's family abstinence or withdrawal. Still fewer compared with 40 per cent of women
welfare programme, which tended in the (4"1 per cent) were using family who had completed secondary school.
past to rely primarily on sterilization. .planning at the time of the survey: 36 In general, women with more
per cent were using a modern method education tended to use modern or
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traditional spacing methods rather
than sterilisation.
Current use of contraception was
also strongly linked to thenumoer of
living children. The prevalence rate
increased from 4 per cent among
women with no living children to 59
per cent among women with three.
Nearly half of all couples with two
living children were using some
method of contraception; for more
than 30 per cent, either the wife or the
husband had been sterilized.
Sources of
Supplies and Services
Family planning supplies. and
services are provided through
primary health centres and subcentres
in rural areas and through a network
of government hospitals and family
welfare centres in towns, Many priva te
hospitals and chnics and
nongovernmental orgariizations also
provide contraceptives.
Among the women using
modern methods at the time of the
survey, 79 per cent obtained
contraceptives from government
sources. The priva te medical sector-
private hospitals and clinics, private
doctors, and pharmacies-supplied
15per cent of users, and another 5 per
cent obtained contraceptives from
such sources as shops, friends or
relatives.
In general, rural residents were
more dependent on government
sources for family planning than were
city dwellers. However, the mix of
public and private sector sources
varied according to the method used.
The government was by far the most
important source of sterilization: 86
per cent of female and 93 per cent of
male sterilizations had been
performed at a government facility.
The government was also the major
source of IUDs (63 per cent).
Among respondents who used
birth control pills, only 31 per cent
obtained them from the public
medical sector. The majority obtained
pills from the private medical sector
(42percent) or from shops, friends, or
relatives (27 per cent). The private
sector had an even greater role in the
provision of condoms: the private
medical sector supplied 20 per cent of
condom users, and other private
sector sources supplied a further 61
percent.
Directions of
Follow-up Action
Detailed
analysis
of
information on fertility and family
planning practices will helpfamily welfare
organizations and the government target
theirprogramme efforts in the years ahead.
For example, results from the NFHS
on contraceptive use show a strong
demand for temporary spacing
methods, which isnow met primarily
by the private sector. Greater
government involvement in
providing these temporary spacing
methods would bring more young
women into the family welfare
programme and provide substantial
health benefits to women and. their
children.
NATIONAL FAMILY HEALTH SURVEY (1992-93)
Given the importance of information on fertility and family health, the Union Ministry of
Health and Family Welfare launched a project in 1991 to strengthen the survey
capabilities of 18 population research centres all over the country. The National Family
Health Survey (NFHS) is an important component of this project, coordinated by the Intemational
Institute for Population Sciences (liPS), Bombay. The East-West Centre and a U.S. based
consultlnq firm, Macro Intemational, provided technical assistance for the survey while the
funding was done by the United States Agency for Intemational Development (USAID), New
Delhi.
,The NFHS covered 24 States and the National Capital Territory of Delhi, comprising 99 per
cent of the total population of India. In all, 89,777 ever-married women between the ages of 13
and 49 and 88,562 households were covered, using unltorm questionnaires, sample designs and
field procedures. The data: collection was carried out on a state-by-state basis during the period
April 1992 to September 1993. The survey incorporates basic information on fertility, knowledge
and practice of fal)1i1yplanning, utilization of antenatal services, immunisation, feeding practices
and health of children, infant and child mortality, matemal mortality, and knowledge of AIDS.
The' NFHS is specifically designed to provide a source of demorgraphic data for inter-state
comparison, and to this end the survey used uniform questionnaires and uniform methods of
sampling, data collection and analysis for all the States. Information from the survey is intended
to assist policy makers, administrators and researchers to assess and evaluate population and
family welfare programmes and strategies in individual states and the country as a whole.
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ESCAP Study on Gender Issues: Improvement in
Female Life Expectancy and Nutrition Intake
T he proportion of women in India's population
continues to decline but life expectacny at. birth
and levels of nutrition intake for women have
improved during the eighties.
A booklet, Women and Men in India, prepared by
,the Department of Statistics has compiled 35 indicators on
various gender issues under a project sponsored by
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
(ESCAP)
The EsCAP project, aimed at disseminating
internationally comparable statistics of women and men
from the region, had prescribed 55 indicators for enabling
an uniform appraisal of the social indicators in the region.
, The $35,OOO-projecltists statistics on issues such as
marriage age of women, family planning, live births and
types of medical attention, literacy, enrolment, dropout
rates and university education.
.
According to the booklet, the proportion of women,
which was 49.2 per cent of the country's population in
1901, has now come down to 48.1 per cent in 1991. The
corresponding sex ratio has all along been adverse to
women during the 20th century. The adversity is on the
increase.
For instance, there were 103 males for every 100
females in 1901, but this number has risen to 108 in 1991.
Between 1981-1991,while female population registered a
growth rate of 2.10 per cent, the male population grew at
the rate of 2.17 per cent.
Interestingly, the age-speciffic mortality rate for all
age groups for both men and women are equal and had in
fact declined from 16 in 1970 to 10 in 1992. But there were
110.1 males per 100 females at birth during 1989-91.
The booklet features positive features as well. A
heartening sign is that life expectancy of women
has impvoedin eighties. The female infant mortality
rate has also declined from 98 in 1985 to 80 in 1992,
whereas the rate for male declined from 96 to 79 over the
same period.
As far as nutrition was concerned, the study revealed
the energy intake of women has been found to be relativey
higher than is the case for men. The intake is higher for
higher age groups for both men and women.
The mean age of marriage was 15.4 for females and
19.9 for males in 1951.The female age iilcreased to 17.9 in
1981 and 19.5 in.1992. On the other hand, the male age
increased to 23.3 in 1981.
Women have shown higher preference for family
planning compared to men. For instance, the tubectomy
operations, meant for women, have been increasing at
higher rates.
Their number increased from 4.511akh in 1970-71to
43.2 lakh in 1993-94. On the contrary the vasectomy
operations declined from 8.79 lakh to 1.S lakh over the
same period.
UN POPULATION AWARDS
The head of the lnternatlonal Planned
Parenthood Federation (lPPF) and an African
group fighting traditional practices harmful to
women were awarded the 1995 UN populatin
award.
Mr Halfdan Mahler of Denmark has led the
IPPF since 1989. The group promotes voluntary
family planning and is active in 140 countries.
Priorto joining the organisation, Mr Mahler
was director-general of the World Health
Organisation, where he established a research
and training programme aimed at the health
needs of people in developing countries.
Mahler shared the award with the Inter-
African Committee on Traditional Practices
affecting the health of women and children.
"WHERE TO FROM CAIRO"
PFI- UNFPA JOINT CAMPAIGN
FOR FOLLOW·UP ACTION.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) along
with the Population Foundation of India (PFI) carried a nation-
wide campaign called 'Where to from Cairo'. The campaign
was part of activities leading up to World Population Day,
July 11.
The programme of action which emerged from the
,International Conference on Population and Development
held in September 1994 in Cairo has set some definite goals
and stress is laid on empowering women, gender equity and
quality reproductive health care and family planning,
Under the PFI-UNFPAjointcampaign three workshops
- one each at Banqalore, Bhopal and New Delhi - were
orqanised to enable grassroots level workers, non-government
organisations, opinion leaders, media representatives and
population experts to come together and to discuss how the
programme of action would be implemented in India.
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·TECHNOLOGY MISSION
TO BRING DOWN BIRTH RATE
With the four Hindi-
. speaking states showing
no visible signs of
improving their family planning
record, the Centre has decided to set
up a special technology mission. with
the specific task of bringing down the
birth rate in these states.
The states of Bihar, Uttar
Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and
Rajasthan, with 40 per cent of the
country's population, have for long
presented a major problem for those
manning the family welfare
department both at the Centre and in
the States.
Regional variations in the
implementa tion of the family welfare.
schemes are too stark to be ignored.
For instance, states like Kerala and
Tamil Nadu, with crude birth rates of
17.3 and 19.2 per thousand,
respectively, have performed
extremely well. In sharp contrast, in
states like Bihar (32.1), Uttar Pradesh
(36), Rajasthan (33.6) and Madhya
Pradesh (33.4), the rates are higher
than the national average of 28.5.
It is to focus special attention
on these four states that the Centre
has decided to create a technology
mission on the lines of the literacy
mission. Itwill stretch over a period
of six years at the end of which officials
hope to bring down the birth rate to 26
per thousand.
A separate cell would be set up
at the Centre to monitor the.progress
of the programme and identify the
specific areas for intervention. The
programme itself would be
implemented by the state machinery,
which would also set up separate
committees right down to the district
and block levels for closer evaluation
of the implementation of the various.
projects.
The Central committees will
have the authority to sanction hiring
of private doctors if enough
manpower is not available while those
running the primary health centres
(PHC's) will have sufficient funds at
their disposal so thatthey can improve
facilities without having to approach
the state government each time. Local
health workers will be made
accountable to the local panchayats
which are to be involved in a big way
in this programme. It has already been
suggested by officials that the
responsibility of the functioning of
PHCs be transferred to panchayats.
_This. technology mission is
estimated to cost Rs.l,OOOcrores. A
beginning has been made in the
current budget which has earmarked
Rs 35 crore for this particular project.
BIRTH RATE
(per thousand)
STATE
1990
1993
Bihar
U.P.
Rajasthan
M.P.
Kerala
T.N.
Karnataka
A.P.
32.9
35.7
33.1
36.9
19.0
22.4
27.8
25.6
National Average:
32.1
36.0
33.6
33.4
17.3
19.2
25.5
24.1
28.5
DEATH RATE
(per thousand)
STATE
1990
1993
UP.
12.0
11.4
Rajasthan
9.4
9.0
M.P.
12.5
12.6
Bihar
10.6
10.6
Kerala
6.0
6.0
T.N.
8.7
8.0
Karnataka
8.1
8.0
A.P.
8.7
8.4
National Average: 9.2
BIRTH RATE TARGET
ELUDES M.P.
Madhya Pradesh is lagging behind in
achieving abirth rate of 29.1 perthousand,
a target which should have been achieved
by the end of the Seventh Five Year Plan
in March 1990.
After reviewing the progress of the
Family Welfare Programme in Madhya
Pradesh through a test check of records,
the Comptroller and Auditor General has
pointed out in its report for the year ending
March 1993 that the birth rate, till the end
of 1990, was as high as 36.9 per thousand
and the population in the State was
increasing at the rate of 24.4 perthousand.
However, the figures available through
the sample registration survey (SRS),
show that there is an improvement in the
situation as the birth rate has now come
down to 33.4 per thousand.
The crude birth rate in 1993 was 34.9
perthousand, but within the last two years
it has come down to 33.4 per thousand as
against the national average which had
fallen to 28.5 per thousand from 29 per
thousand last year.
The family welfare programme also
aimed at achieving a death rate of 10.4
per thousand and infant mortality rate
(IMR) of 90 per thousand live ·births in
Madhya Pradesh by the end ofthe Seventh
Plan. But the death rate, which was 12.5
per thousand atthe end of 1990 is currently
12.6 per thousand.
The infant mortality rate, which has
been fluctuating between 104 and 123 per
thousand live births during the last five
years, was 106 per thousand at present.
INNOVATIVE
HEALTH SCHEME
An innovative non-Governmental-
organization-based
health care
scheme--Swasthya Karmi Yojna-
has been launched in Rajasthan to
provide preventive care and family
welfare services to people living in
inaccessible villages.
The scheme will be implemented in
150 blocks in a phased manner over
a period of five years.
It will cover 4,000 difficult and
inaccessible villages where a semi-
literate woman in each village will
work as health worker.
They would be selected from the
respective village itself by the NGOs.
The Centre has sanctioned Rs. 30
crores for-the scheme.
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MUSLIMS NO LONGER
AVERSETOFP
RAJYA SABHA TAKES
UP SMALL FAMILY
(INCENTIVES AND
Family planning motivators are no longer cold-
shouldered in villages. Even in Muslim families, males are
willing to use contraceptives and females are prepared to o~fer
themselves for Intra Uterine Device (IUD) and take oral pills.
Sterilisation, however, continues to be a dirty word for them.
MOTIVATION) BILL
On June 2, 1995, the Rajya Sabha took up
for consideration the Small Family
(Incentives and Motivation) Bill moved
by the Congress memeber, Mr. Suresh
These are the findings of a pre-project baseline survey
during an experimental project on "Small Family Norms
Through Innovative Approach", undertaken by a team of the
Chandigarh-based Centre for Research in Rural a~d Ind ~Istrial
Development (CRRID) during the last one year 1Il 30 villages
of Saharanpur district. Out of these villages, 23 are Muslim
majoirty ones and two have Dalit majority population.
Pachouri.
The bill was introduced by Mr. Pachouri
four years ago. Speaking on the salient
features of the bill, Mr. Pachouri said that
the cooperation of all sections ,of the
population would be nee~ed to make
family planning a success.
Mr. Narain Prasad Gupta (BJP) said the
The team claimed to have achieved 90 per cent of its
target for motivation and awareness. The success in IUD
implantation was 100 per centw hile 40 per cent cou ples opted
for male contraceptive against the target.of 10 percent. Same
was the case wrtlr trsersof oral pills. However, the success
percentage in the immunization programme for infants and
pregnant women was recorded at 70. On the other hand, only
one per cent couples (either sex) against the target of 25 per
cent offered themselves for sterilization.
Government had not been serious on this
topic and hence the delay of four years in
the house taking up the bill. He said it was
for the Government to initiate such a move.
Dr. M. Aram (nominated) said that by the
turn of the century India would have the
dubious distinction of being the most
populous country of the world. Hence, he
said, it was time that the Government
initiated a new population policy to deal
with the situation. He also demanded a
INCENTIVES PROPOSED
I national commission on population.
FOR SMALL FAMILY
The Delhi Govemmenthas sent
Importance of
a proposal to the Centre for reserving
a fixed percentage of seats for higher
education in general and technical
colleges to couples with two or less
children.
The other incentives in' the
proposal, aimed at creating
awareness for a planned family, were
one per 'cent rebate in interest on
house building loans by Government
and Government approved financiers
and banks, reservation of houses,
land and shops by all housing boards,
and quota for allotment of milk booths,
petrol pumps, gas agencies and ration
shops.
Contr~ceptives stre'ssed
Opening a meet on reproductive health organi~ed jointly.by ~he
Department of FamilyWelfare and the Wold Health Organisation
in the Capital on June 13, 1995, Mr J.e. Pant, ~ecret~ry,
Department.of Family Welfare, Government of India, said a
couple should be fully aware of the various family planning
measures available and accordingly make their own choices
regarding the size of their family.
Mr Pant said the Covernernnt had established a wide network
of health and family welfare infrastructure both in the rural and
urban areas and he called upon the voluntary agencies to
educate the people on the use of contraceptives for spacing and
planning the family size.
He also stressed the need for research institutions to come up
with, answers for contraceptive choices which were user-
controlled, acceptable and easy to use and would increase male
participation,
h~P',
~ ,:, "If our population policy goes wrong, nothing else will have chance to go right. ",>
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PFI - Commissioned Study shows women in ~ural Faridabad are
subject to early marriages and multiple pregnancies
A study covering 2,000 married women in the
reproductive age group in' rural Faridabad has
shown that nearly 71 per cent of them were married
before 17 years of age and that 44 per cent among them
became pregnant under 17 years. Nearly 25 per cent of
these women were married and had conceived before they
could attain 15 years of age.
The study, commissioned by the Population
Foundation of India, New Delhi, also highlighted a very high
incidence of "pregnancy wastage" - foetal losses and infant
deaths - particularly among the young couples. Pregnancy
wastage was as high as 4.3 per living child among the
couples in the 15-17 year age group (which works out to
nearly 82 per cent of all conceptions). What was shocking
was that there was 54 per cent loss of female progeny
among all child deaths up to five years of age.
It is obvious that women in rural Faridabad have
been subject to early marriages, early and multiple
pregnancies with shorter inter-birth interval and very high
incidence of foetal losses. Low education and low work
partcipation have worsened their status.
The study has also highlighted the poor quality
of couple protection with family planning methods.
Eighty four per cent of acceptors had three or more living
children; only 10 per cent, using nonterminal methods,
were in the younger ag~ groups with fewer than three
children.
The study concludes that despite large-scale
industrialisation giving employment to a big number,
Faridabad continued to be a predominantly agrarian society,
with all the variables of high fertility in the region.
A two-pronged intensive campaign for female
education, an awareness that raises the age at marriage
and first pregnancy for the sake of maternal health might
tackle the problem. Since neglect of the female progeny
cannot take place without the tacit approval of the senior
woman of the family, their education assumed great
importance. Launching an intensive programme of maternal'
and childhealth care and family planning for protection of
new mothers, pregnant women and young children, might
eventually create favourable conditiens for fertility,
regulation too.
W0 RLD
ENV,IRONMENT DAY
World Environment Day was observed throughout
the world on June -5 to focus global attention on
environment action and awareness.
With the theme of 'We the People, United for
the Global Environment,' the day this year also
honoured the United Nations which celebr~ted its
50th anniversary.
,
World Environment Day.started by the United
Nations General Assembly in 1972, is a people's
event, with Governments and communities
organizing clean up campaigns, tree planting, street
rallies, bicycle parades, green concerts, essay
competitions in schools, recycling efforts and much
more.
According to United Nations Environment
Programme officials in New Delhi, in many
countries, this annual event 15 used to enhance
political attention and action. Heads ofStates commit
themselves to care for the earth.
Each year, the United Nations Environment
Programme" the U.N. agency responsible for
. coordinating World Environment Day activities,
chooses a theme and selects a capital city as the
main venue for the international celebrations.
A·IDS EMERGING AS THE
SCOURGE OF INDIA
Nine years after the first AIDS case was detected in
Maharashtra on June 6,1986, over two million Indians are
said to be infected with the HIV virus which leads to this
killer disease, with no known cure so far.
Five years from now, India may have the dubious
distinction of hosting over one million AIDS patients and
five million infected with HIV virus.
According to an estimate made by the WHO regional
office for South-East Asia, India has over two-third of the
HIV infected individuals in the region, followed distantly
by Thailand (23%) and Myanamar (7%)
The all-India network of the National Aids Control.
Organization, which has so far tested about 2.5 million
people, including many high-risk groups found that a.
staggering 18,222people were sera-positive, or the carriers
of AIDS virus, and 1,108 suffered from AIDS.
Of the 1,108 cases reported to NACO, 833, or 75.2%
related to hetrosexual promiscuity, 123 (11.1%) to blood
transfusion and 96 (8.66%) to intravenous drugs users.
As of today, about 9Q% to 95% of infections are
,acquired within the country, almost 90% are in under-50
age-group, and more than two-third between 20 to 40
years of age .
Statewise, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, account
for nearly 60%AIDS cases detected so far with 288 and 372
cases respectively while Delhi and Kerala have reported
fifth highest ('75) and fourth highest ('76) cases so far.
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UNICEF REPORT FOR 1995
INDIA SURPASSES TARGET
FOR REDUCING UNDER · FIVE MORTALITY
India went beyond its target for
reducing infant mortality and
completing primary schooling
but fell short of its goal to reduce the
number ofchildren born underweight,
according to the 1995U.N. Children's
Fund (UNICEF) Report "The Progress
of Nations 1995".
.
India had set itself a target of red ucing
under-five mortality to 143 per
thousand bu t did better to red uce it to
122 per thousand and raising the
percentage of children reaching grade
five to 62. But, the percentage of
children born underweight was 69
instead of the expected goal of 31.,
The report ranked 160 countries by
their advances and setbacks in the
areas of child health, nutrition,
education, family planning and
progress towards eq uality of women.
The results can often show that poor
countries are doing better than richer
countries. "Economic performance is
not everything," says Mr. Richard
Jolly, UNICEF Deputy Executive
Director, in his introduction to the
report.
GIRL CHILD
DISCRIMINATED
UNICEF's Report for 1995
finds that girls, in almost every
country, are lagging behind boys
in health and education
standards.
It notes inequality in
education is particularly
important
because
it
undermines the struggle for
equality in almost all other fields.
"Many poor nations are achieving
levels of health, nutrition and
education. Social progress must
proceed side by side or they will
eventually and inevitably hold each
other back," he observes.
The report finds that the number of
polio victims in the world is down
from some 400,000 in 1980 to about
100,000in 1993due to a decade-long
effort to immunize 80%of the world's
children. This has raised hopes that
the polio virus may be eradicated by
2000AD, the goal set for this purpose.
India is mentioned as one of the
countries where an acute respiratory
infections control programme is
operative. It was also one of the top
five countries which increased access
to safe water by 20%.The incidence of
guinea worm in the country declined
by 50% between 1993 and 1994.
Vitamin A deficiency exists in India
but the country is on target to reach
the 1995 goal of adequate Vitamin A
for atleast80%ofchildren under two.
The country has also made progress
in the areas of establishing "baby-
friendly" hospitals, regulations on
breastmilk substitutes and provision
of minimum maternity benefits.
The report says 56%of the children in
South Asia and Africa suffer from
anemia, the largest percentage of
anemic children for any region.
The report also takes note of the
progress made in South Asia in
fertility. But child prostitution is a
major problem in India. The report
pointed out there are few reliable
figures for the number of children
involved in prostitution.
Major Environment Project Launch~d
On this year's Earth Day, April 22, 1995,the Tata Energy
Research Institute (TERI)N.Delhi launched "Green India
2047", an ambitious project to document the country's
degradation of the environment since Independence
and develop a strategy for its regenera tion in the next 50
years. TERIdirector R.K: Pachauri said Green Ind ia 2047
(Growth with Enhancement of Environment and Nature)
would attempt to provide future scenarios for two
terminal periods for the year 2019, to mark the 150th
birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and the second
for 2047, to coincide with the first hundred years of
India's Independence. The study will be released on the
eve of Independence Day in 1997.
A blueprint for the study was released by
Environment Minister Kamal Nath. He also released
another TERI study, Mahatma Gandhi: An Apostle of
Applied Human Ecology written by environmental scientist
T.N. Khoshoo.
The blueprint for Green-India 2047 presents an
alarming environmental scenario for the country.
"Industry and Business cannot remain immune to the
degradation of the environment and the depletion of
India's naturral resources wealth," warns the study.
For, air pollution for instance leads to high levels of
disease which, in turn, increases absenteeism amog
industrial and office workers. Nearly 60 per cent of
Calcutta's population suffer from respiratory diseases
caused by pollution. Another recent study indicated
that the incidence of chronic bronchitis in Delhi is about
12 per cent higher than the natioanl average.
Published by the POPULATION FOUNDATION OF INDIA, 8·28, Qutab Institutional Area, New Delhi-110016. Tel.: 6867080, 6867081
Designed and Printed by ReprOductions India, F-39, East of Kailash, New Delhi-110065. Tel.: 6422289, 6415600
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