J&K among front-runners in Niti Aayog’s SDG Index
Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir showed an “incremental” performance in Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of good health and well being of people with the composite index score of the UT having improved by eight points.
This was revealed by third rendition of India’s SDG Index launched by Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar on Thursday.
The composite index score of the UT in SDG-3 Goal has improved by 8 points from 62 in 2019-20 to 70 in 2020-21, the report said.
With the increase in overall score, the Jammu and Kashmir has bagged position in the category of “front runners” (with index score higher than or equal to 65) as compared to the category of “Performers” (50 to 64 scores) in 2019-20, officials said.
The SDG goal three of the 2030 agenda, which is related to “good health and well being” of people, addresses all major health priorities, including reproductive, maternal and child health; communicable and non-communicable environmental diseases; universal health coverage and access for all to save; effective, quality and affordable medicines and vaccines, senior officials in the health department said.
They said that despite challenges, J&K performed better than many states and UTs in the index.
The Index for SDGs evaluates progress of states and union territories on social, economic and environmental parameters. The report reveals that Jammu and Kashmir has left states like Maharashtra, Telangana, West Bengal and several others behind.
“The multipronged strategy has been adopted by the government of Jammu and Kashmir for revamping the health sector by improving governance, huge upgradation of health infrastructure, improvement in supply chain mechanism and other reforms in the health care delivery system,” a senior officer said.
This has led to improvement in the overall position of the UT, they said.
The under-five mortality rate of Jammu and Kashmir is 23 (per 1000 live births) as compared to National average of 36 (per 1000 live births).
Like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharasthra, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and Ladakh, J&K has achieved the global target of reducing under-five mortality rate to 25 (per 1000 live births), report said.
Full immunisation of the children in the age group of nine to 11 months aims to end preventable deaths of newborns and those under five years of age, it said adding that 100 percent immunisation coverage (BCG, measles, and three doses each of polio and DPT) is a prerequisite to achieve this global target.
According to Routine Immunisation Programme Dashboard (Health Management Information System), the UT has achieved the global target of 100 percent immunisation of the children in the age group of nine to 11 months after Maharasthra and Ladakh.
The UTs of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh lead among all the UTs with HIV incidence as low as 0.02 per 1000 un-infected population. Jammu and Kashmir is closest to achieving the global target of zero HIV incidence, which aims to end the epidemic of AIDS by 2030, the report reflects.
Kerala, Karnatka, Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh are the only other States with HIV incidence of 0.02 per 1000 un-infected population.
According to Health Management Information System (HMIS) 94.6 percent of the total reported deliveries happened in health institutions in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir.
“J&K has improved its ranking in almost all sectors, its performance is excellent in the sectors like health, agricultural productions, education, renewal energy, providing civic amenities, enhancing forest cover, and ensuring gender equality during the last year,” the Niti Aayog report said.
This positive stride towards achieving the targets is largely driven by exemplary countrywide performance in clean water and sanitation, and affordable and clean energy, Niti Aayog said in a statement.
In the year 2019, annual drop cases in the secondary level were 24.81 percent but these cases have come down to 17.81 percent in the last one year.
Furthermore, the pupil-teacher ratio at the secondary level has also improved to 12:1 in the Union Territory. Now, 84 percent of schools have electricity and drinking water facilities, it added.
Like other parts of the country, J&K is also confronting the problem of gap between male, female ratio.
This ratio has improved to 927 females against 1,000 males in this fiscal year in comparison 917 in the previous one. Furthermore, crime against women also declined during the last year, it said.
