With just five years to the 2015 deadline for achieving the Millennium Development Goals, India as a whole will not be on track for a majority of the targets including health unless concerted national efforts are made by government and all sections of civil-society working in tandem, according to the country report. With 1.9 million tuberculosis cases estimated in 2008, India has one fifth of the world’s total. Globally India also made the most notable progress in providing treatment across the country’s entire population – in 2008 over 1.5 million patients were enrolled for treatment, as per the third Millennium Development Goals –India Country Report 2009, prepared by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

``All-India trend of the proportion of underweight (severe and moderate) children below three years of age shows India is going slow in eliminating the effect of malnourishment. The estimate of the proportion has declined only marginally during 1998-99 to 2005-06, from about 47 to about 46 percent and at this rate of decline is expected to come down to about 40 percent only by 2015,’’ the report said.

``Health too is a major challenge -- the very survival of India’s women and children is threatened. In 2006, on average 254 women died giving birth to a child for every 100,000 live births down from 327 in 1990. The states of Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal had the highest numbers ranging from 480 to 312. Kerala at 95, Tamil Nadu at 111 and West Bengal at 141 have the best figures,’’ it said

According to the 2010 global MDG report “giving birth is especially risky in Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, where most women deliver without skilled care”. For India the percentage of deliveries with skilled care went up from 33 percent in 1990 to 52 percent by 2007-08 still short of the developing world average of 63 per cent. Over 1.5 million children continue to die every year before their first birthday. Across India 74 children died before they reached the age of five for every 1,000 live births in 2005-06 as compared to 125 in 1990. `` At this rate India is likely to miss the target of reducing these figures to 42 for 1,000 live births by 2015. On this indicator, Assam, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh are the laggards while Goa, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala, Sikkim and Tamil Nadu are on the fast track and likely to be early achievers,’’ the report said.

Prof. T.C.A. Anant, Secretary, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, reiterating the government’s commitment to accelerating progress on the MDGs said, “the stakes are high. With five years to the 2015 deadline we have a narrow window of opportunity to generate renewed momentum. For us programme implementation is the major challenge – and to make every tier of the administration accountable to the people. The 2009 India Country MDG Report offers a unique insight into which states have the greatest challenges and our deliberations over the past two days have brought to the fore the importance of integration of MDGs in all levels of planning, policy formulation and implementation of programmes with participation of citizens including the poorest and the marginalized as important stakeholders, through political representation and local governance institutions.”