Chance of survival in India below 50% in first five years

The international children’s charity, Save the Children, ranks India alongside Ghana because we do not provide health care to over 50% of our children under five years old! More shocking statistics from BBC:

The report, called State of the World’s Mothers, says girls die at much higher rates in India than most countries.

Although India has cut child its mortality rate by 34% since 1990, Indian girls are 61% more likely than boys to die between the ages of one and five….

The report says experts predict that over 60% of the nearly 10 million children who die every year could be saved by delivering basic health services through a health facility or community health worker.

About 10 million children die every year in India because of lack of basic health facilities. And the Govt. spends millions on Haj subsidies and buying fighter planes and submarines. When we can’t protect the lives of those that are born in India today, our politicians are buying unnecessary equipment for a future eventuality that may never strike? Of course, defence preparedness is necessary, but whither prioritization?

Not to mention that in a natural scenario, girls outlive boys – although statistically more boys are born than girls, in a population devoid of selective births, there are more females because of their natural hardiness. Not so in India, where if you’re born a girl, there is almost a 2/3rd higher chance that you’d die than if you were born a boy.

“A child’s chance of reaching its fifth birthday should not depend on the country or community where it is born,” said Jasmine Whitbread, Save the Children’s chief executive.

At a recent panel discussion I attended on “the personal genome”, when Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, was asked what trait he would handpick for his child if he could, he replied saying that he would choose his child to be born in a developed country. I was perturbed that a philanthropist like him, who gives away millions of dollars to developing country causes would say such a statement verging on being racist. But this report by Save the Children puts his reply in perspective.