Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday (December 12) said maternal mortalities have decreased by over 33 per cent and child deaths reduced by nearly 15 per cent since the launch of a crackdown on child marriage in the state this year. He reaffirmed the state government’s goal of eradicating the social ill of child marriage by 2026, with more than 5,000 people already arrested.
The Assam CM said on X,
Child marriage is a social evil which also manifests undesirable health outcomes such as high infant and maternal mortality rates.
Our crackdown has yielded encouraging results in women & child health sphere.
By 2026 Assam will end this abhorrent practice. pic.twitter.com/FmgSnW1paD
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) December 12, 2023
CM Sarma said Assam has a higher infant mortality rate (IMR) and maternal mortality rate (MMR) than the national average, and it is “more prevalent in certain districts as compared to others”.
The primary reason for the high IMR and MMR is child marriage, he said.
Also Read: India’s Under 5 Mortality Rate Sees 3-Point Decline; UP, Karnataka Record Highest Dip: Report
The under-5 mortality figures in 2020 was 40 per cent in the state against the national average of 32 per cent, the chief minister said.
Listing some of the measures taken by the state government to curb the menace, CM Sarma said more than 5,000 people have been arrested in a massive crackdown in multiple phases against child marriage.
The Assam government has also designated gram panchayat secretaries as Child Marriage Prevention (Prohibition) Officers, he said.
As a result, there has been a 33.4-per cent decline in the number of maternal deaths from 766 in 2021-22 to 510 in 2022-23. There has also been a 14.7-per cent fall in the number of child deaths from 7,872 in 2021-22 to 6,718 in 2022-23, he said.
The crackdown against child marriage and teenage pregnancy will continue till the government achieves its goal of eradicating these by 2026, the CM added.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which in its Season 10 is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Ayushmann Khurrana. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In a world post COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental well-being, self-care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
