A striking feature of contemporary experience in India is the systemic failure in addressing the health needs of a major proportion of the population. Particularly disturbing are the women’s health indicators. From the NFHS of 2005 -2006, we find only three statistics that are related to women’s health status: All of these are matters of deep concern and indeed are only the tip of the iceberg.
- 33% of women are malnourished.
- 56.2% of all women and 58% of pregnant women are anaemic as compared to 26% of men.
- 37.2% of women have experienced domestic violence.
The other national statistic that we have which is reflective of women’s health is the maternal mortality rate (MMR). The number of maternal deaths is now estimated at 301 per 1,00,000 live births – in 2001 – 2003. This is still three times the goal of 100 that we set ourselves in 1983, when the National Health Policy was being adopted. These dismal figures are symptoms, which have their roots in a number of causal factors that are interlinked, and that reinforce each other.
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