DECISIVE STEPS TOWARDS SECURING the HEALTH OF FUTURE GENERATIONS

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That the future of the country lies in the hands of the young is well known. It is these young people of today who will shape and lead the country tomorrow. Therefore, in order to ensure that our country remains strong tomorrow, the health of the young today must be given utmost priority. Over the last four years, the Modi government has taken several measures to ensure that the health of infants and children are given maximum attention with a view to give them the utmost quality of life, preparing them for future when they can contribute productively to the cause of nation-building. Following are some of other major steps for the good health of our Future Generations.

Impressive improvement in infant and maternal mortality rates

1- When a child is born, both the child and the mother need the best healthcare possible under an integrated response mechanism. In India, the infant mortality rate and maternal mortality rates are improving and in the last few years, both the indicators have shown significant reduction.

2-The under-five child mortality (U5MR) of India showed an impressive decline from 49 per 1000 live births in 2013 to 39 in 2016. India, with the current rate of decline of U5MR is well on track to meet the Sustainable Development Goals target of 25 for under-five child mortality by 2030.

3- Only half way through its term, the government had brought down the infant mortality rate by three points (8% decline), from 40 per 1000 live births in 2013 to 34 per 1000 live births in 2016.

4- In tandem with these gains in terms of infant and child health, the country has also shown remarkable reduction in maternal mortality rates with 22% reduction since 2013. Maternal mortality ratio of India has declined from 167 in 2011-2013 to 130 in 2014-2016.

5- The government launched Mission Indradhanush within the first year of its tenure. With the success of the programme, in order to accelerate mission, an Intensified Mission Indradhanush was launched, to reach each and every child up to two years of age and all those pregnant women who have been left uncovered under the routine immunisation programmes.

6- Four phases of Mission Indradhanush have been completed wherein 3.38 crore children were vaccinated, of which 81.67 lakh children have been fully immunized. 86.88 lakh pregnant women were vaccinated too.

Successfully handling Japanese Encephalitis

Japanese Encephalitis which has proven to be a life-threatening viral disease affecting mainly children aged less than 15 years across many parts of the country, has been tackled head on by the government.

By the middle of 2018, over 15 crore children aged 1-15 years were vaccinated with the JE vaccine.

POSHAN Abhiyaan

1- The government has sought to address the problem of malnutrition through the landmark POSHAN Abhiyaan to improve nutritional outcomes for children, adolescents, pregnant women and lactating mothers by leveraging technology, targeted approach and convergence.

2- The aim is to reduce stunting, under-nutrition, anemia (among young children, women and adolescent girls) and reduce low birth weight.

3- The target of the mission is to bring down stunting among children in the age group 0-6 years from 38.4% to 25% by 2022. A sum of Rs. 2122.27 crore has been released for FY 2017-18 & 2018-19 with over 10 crore people to benefit.