India, which holds the dubious distinction of the highest death rate for children under five and the highest maternal deaths in the world, also has a shortfall of 2.6 million health workers, a report said on Tuesday.The report by Save the Children India said that at 900,000 a year, India has the largest number of newborn deaths and is among five countries that account for more than half of the world’s 3.3 million newborn deaths. The others are Nigeria, Pakistan, China and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
A majority of these deaths, as well as the maternal and child deaths, are preventable, and occur in just seven states—Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh andUttarakhand—which are also the states with the fewest healthcare workers, the report said.
“We know that the presence of a health worker could mean the difference between life and death for a mother and her newborn child,” Save the Children chief executive Thomas Chandy said in statement. “This massive shortfall of 2.6 million health workers means that we really need to step up efforts not just to address this gap, but to strengthen the existing healthcare system.”
Only 29% of posts for doctors at primary health centres are filled across the nation, the report said, citing 2009 official data.
The release of the non-governmental organization’s report coincides with the United Nations (UN) General Assembly meeting in New York, and an international publicity event held by UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon in New York on Tuesday to highlight the progress of Every Woman, Every Child, a global programme aimed at saving the lives of 16 million women and addressing major health challenges faced by women and children globally.
Rajiv Tandon, a senior adviser for health and nutrition for Save the Children India, who is attending the general assembly as part of an lobbying effort to increase India’s spending on health, said the country appears to be falling behind in this regard.
“The global gap figure that is being talked about is 3.5 million health workers. But this figure is only for the 49 least developed countries, which does not include India, and India has an additional gap of 2.6 million,” he said. “Twenty-seven million children are born every year in India, of which 900,000 die within the first months, and about 60,000 mothers during their delivery.”
“We are eagerly awaiting the outcome of the India summit tomorrow (Wednesday) to see what commitments the government of India is going to make,” he said over the telephone. “Based on the needs, we hope it will be substantial.”
As reported in: http://www.livemint.com/2011/09/20225412/India-has-shortfall-of-26-mil.html?atype=tp