Ranchi, Jharkhand 22 August 2014 :: International Child rights organisation, Save the Children today organised a state level stakeholder consultation to mark the 500 day countdown to achieve Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Speaking on the occasion Mahua Manji, Chairperson, Jharkhand State Commission for Women said that there are number of problems plaguing the women in Jharkhand. “Trafficking of women is the biggest problem in the state which needs to be addressed at the earlier to achieve the MDG 3 target. We also need to start many women related employment scheme through agencies like Jharkcraft,” she added.
Speaking on the occasion experts claimed that though Jharkhand has made tremendous progress since Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were decided in the year 2000, the state will fail to achieve majority of targets till 2015. The consultation focused on MDG targets 2,3,4 and 5, on which Save the Children works.
“August 18 marks the beginning of the 500-day countdown leading up to the day of achievement of MDGs and we would like to use this occasion to report and mobilise public support toward hastening our progress on the MDGs and areas on which Save the Children’s interventions have a direct impact– education, gender empowerment and maternal and child health,” said Mahadev Hansda, State Program Manager of Save the Children.
During the consultation speakers pointed that the state has managed to achieve high Net Enrolment Ratio 92.09 percent (DISE 2012-13), however, annual average drop out at primary level stands at 6.59 percent (DISE 2012-13). Moreover, there is high level of female illiteracy in the state (As per Census 2011–78.45% males are literate while is only 56.21% female are literate).
The high level of female illiteracy coupled with low enrolment of girls, will prove a hindrance in achieving the MDG 3 targets. The enrolment ratio of boy to girl stands at 0.96 in Jharkhand schools (DISE 2012-13).
Officials from health department pointed that Jharkhand has made tremendous progress in achieving MDG 4 targets of lowering Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) which now stands at 36 per 1000 live births. In fact, some of the districts have already achieved IMR and U5MR targets under this goal.
The state will, however, fail short of achieving the targets under MDG 5 as MMR stands at 219 per 1,00,000 live births (SRS 2012) and only 56% of the women have access to safe delivery (AHS 2012-13). This figure is less than the national MMR rate of 178 per 1,00,000 live births (SRS 2012).
While the all India MMR reduced by 149 points between 2010 and 2012, states like Uttar Pradesh/ Uttarakhand (declined by 247 points), Rajasthan (declined by 246 points), Odisha (declined by 189 points), Bihar/Jharkhand (declined by 181 points), Madhya Pradesh/ Chhattisgarh (declined by 177 points) exceeded the national annual MMR reduction rate.
“ Save the Children, along with the other participants, will commit to taking action and assuming collective responsibility to ensure that India makes even faster progress on the sustainable development goals (SDGs) even while attempting to inch as close to the MDG as possible,” added Hansda.
Information was given by :: Ankush Singh [ Advocacy, Campaign and Communication Coordinator, Save the Children ]
