Excelsior Correspondent
BEIJING, Oct 23: Union Health Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad addressed the International Inter-ministerial Conference on “International Inter-ministerial Conference on South-South Cooperation in the Post ICPD and MDGs” at Beijing, China today.
Azad said that significant progress has been made since International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in 1994 and preliminary findings show that globally between 1994 and 2012, fertility fell by 29%, contraceptive prevalence for women aged 15 to 49 rose from 58.4% to 63.6%, while unmet need for modern methods declined from 20.7% to 18.5%.
The Union Health Minister highlighted some of the initiatives launched by the Health Ministry in India like the National Safe Motherhood Scheme (JSY), Maternal Death Review (MDR), Safe Motherhood and Childhood Programme (JSSK), Mother and Child Tracking System (MCTS) and the National Child Health Programme(RBSK) which have significantly improved maternal and child health and population stabilization efforts.
Azad said that maternal mortality rates have fallen by 47% since ICPD – but that is far short of MDG goal of 75 % reduction. Similarly, child mortality has declined by 41% globally, butfallsshort of the goalpost of 66% reduction. The Minister said that the studies show that meeting the unmet needs in South, Central and South-East Asia alone would reduce maternal deaths by 75%, newborn deaths by 52% and unintended pregnancies by 74 %.
He expressed his concern that a staggering 222 million women around the world lack access to contraceptive servicesleading to 80 million unplanned pregnancies, 30 million unplanned births and 20 million unsafe abortions every year, is a reminder that almost 20 years after ICPD,universal access to sexual and reproductive health services and care is not ensured. It is time we acknowledge that we need to make massive and strategic investments in universal access to affordable and appropriate sexual and reproductive health services, he noted.
The Health Minister remarked that child marriages, teenage pregnancies, neglected youth and adolescent populations, high levels of malnutrition including anaemia, and violence against women are several other issues which are critical to accelerating progress on MDGs but have not received due attention so far.
Azad acknowledged that nations must agree on a new set of goals.It would be a mistake not to build on the success that we have achieved, he said. Let us not undermine the work we have collectively done, in fact we have much to be proud of – momentum for gender equality and human rights has never been stronger.
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