India to Fail UN Goals for Poverty, Infant Mortality

By siliconindia | Thursday, 03 January 2013, 10:01 Hrs

In 2015 the poverty ratio in India is most likely to be 26.7 percent unlike the MDG goal set of 23.9 percent as per a government report. The poverty ratio was reported to be 29.8 percent in 2009 to 2010 in the country. It was agreed as one of the terms of agreement by India to reduce half the population under national poverty line by 2015, as per the 1990 level. The national poverty ratio in 1990 was 47.8 percent which was brought down to 37.2 percent in 2004 and 2005 and is successively reducing but not by far enough to meet the desired target by 2015, reported Mahendra Kumanr Singh for TNN.

Infant Mortality
The goal of reducing child mortality rate is the fourth goal on the MDG list which comes after ‘achieving universal primary education’ and ‘promoting gender equality and empowering women’. Also called the under 5 mortality; it refers to the death of infants and children below the age of 5. As recorded in 2011, 6.9 million children below five years lost their lives around the world. The 'under 5’ death toll was 7.6 million in 2010, it was 8.1 million in 2009 and 12.4 million in 1990.
Over half of these deaths occur in Sub- Saharan Africa and in low income countries. Most of the deaths of infants go unnoticed in third world as the impoverished families cannot even afford to register the child’s death in the government registry.