India's Children - 3
Child Education
Education is an issue that definitely needs addressing in India . For such a populous country, it is surprising that the literacy rate in the country is only around 65%.
The attendance rate at schools for children between the ages of 6 and 14 years old is around 79% (meaning 21% don't attend school at all). Between the years of 1996 and 2003, the average primary school enrolment rate was only 77%. 5
If children don't get the opportunity to go to school, they can't equip themselves for adulthood, which means they are more likely to fall into poverty and criminal related activities, such as stealing and robbery.
Child Health
Perhaps one of the biggest issues faced by the children in India is the health standard. There are 2180 thousand deaths every year in the country of children under the age of 5 years old, and this doesn't look to be decreasing by any effective amount. In addition to this, approximately 63 infants under the age of 1 die compared to every 1000 births.
Unfortunately, this is not the only area where the children of India suffer in regards to their health. Between 1997 and 2000, routine immunisations fell from 60% down to 40%. This means that more children than ever are susceptible to life-threatening diseases.
47% of all children under the age of 3 in India are considered to be malnourished, and the number of low birth weight babies continues to remain dangerously high.
16% of children under the age of 5 suffer from moderate to severe wasting, and 46% of children in this age group suffer from stunting.
Iodized salt is extremely important for healthy growth, but only around 50% of households in the country use it. In addition to this, many of the water sources that Indian families use are unsafe or unclean.
Sanitation continues to be a problem that Indian children face as well, as only 37% of households have toilets (and only 19% in rural areas). This can lead to various infections and diseases, such as diarrhoea, typhoid, and cholera. 5a
Overwhelmed
Indian children are overwhelmed by the obstacles facing them in their everyday lives. From sexual abuse to malnutrition, these children are facing so many hurdles that it makes it almost impossible for them to learn and grow like other normal children.
However, the children of this country deserve to be given the same chances as other children. They deserve a childhood that is nurturing and caring, and not one that is destructive and damaging.
Sources
1. Pune Newsline http://cities.expressindia.com/
2. Shakti Productions http://www.shaktiproductions.net
3 – 3b. Indian NGOs http://www.indianngos.com
4. Free the Children http://www.freethechildren.org/
5 – 5a. UNICEF http://www.unicef.org
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