South Indian states like Kerala and Goa are the best places to be born in India, according to Union health ministry while Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh are the worst places - not a surprise; they are infamous dens of corruption and scams.
IF YOU are born in Kerala or Goa you have a reason to smile. But, if you are born in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh or Odisha, you have a reason to frown. Because a recent Union health ministry data has revealed Kerala and Goa to be the best places to be born and Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh to be the worst. In a country like India, infant mortality (IMR) rate has always been a major problem. Goa has lowest IMR, with only 10 deaths per 1000 births and Madhya Pradesh the highest with 62 deaths, reports The Times of India.
Nishath Nizar, who was born and brought up in Kerala is not at all surprised by this news, as he proudly states, “It is a known fact”. It is not surprising as they have some of the best private hospitals in the country, where medical facilities are never questioned. He adds, “There are many hospitals in our state”. The literacy rate in Kerala is one of the highest in the country and he says, “Due to the higher literacy rate, people in Kerala are aware of what kinds of health facilities are best for them.”
On the other hand, Sagar Verma, who resides in Uttar Pradesh, is not surprised with the embarrassing distinction of being born in one of India’s worst states. He says, “Corruption is a major problem in our state and medical facilities are found wanting most of the times.” Though, there has been development in some parts of Uttar Pradesh, but still, they lack many facilities, which have led to this kind of result. He puts it aptly, with a funny tone, “UP is like this only”.
Apart from it, if we look at country’s condition, it draws a sorry figure. India has the worst child mortality rate at 72 deaths per 1,000 live births. One of the main reasons is the malnutrition. Though Indian Government has been looking after the issue, still they have not been able to put a check upon it. There are some kinds of programs such as Mid-Day Meal scheme, National Children’s Fund, Integrated child development scheme, etc to address the issues of malnutrition but they seem just as rules, which are formulated but not implemented in letter and spirit.
