Despite having the much toasted GDP growth hovering at 9.2%, India spends pitifully less when it comes to the health of women. India accounts for 20% of the global maternal and child deaths and it also witnesses close to 3 million women’s deaths due to lack of resources and careless delivery dealing.
Around 136,000 of the aforementioned deaths occur due to lack of resources mainly in the rural villages, where almost 70% of India’s total population resides. The national figure of 540 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births increases to 619 when one considers the rural areas of states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Successive state and Central Governments have simply made announcements, but have forgotten the implementation part. As per some reports, as many as up to 75% of rural women give birth to their child at home due to lack of basic amenities. As India steadily progresses towards being the most populous country in the world by 2035 AD, one shudders to think about another discreditable rating we just might end up achieving – the nation having the most maternal deaths.