New York: Despite an improvement in child mortality figures,
5,000 children under the age of five die in India everyday due
to preventable causes, according to a latest UNICEF report.
Within the under five mortality rate, the maximum 96 per cent of
children who die belong to the Scheduled Tribes, 88 per cent to
Scheduled Castes and 59 to general population. "It is early
marriage and inadequate health care of women which adversely
affects the survival of their children," said Karen Hulshoff,
Country Representative of UNICEF in India The report says
malnutrition rates in India continue to be very high. Though the
percentage of malnourished children below the age of three has
decreased from 52 per cent to 46 per cent, it is still way below
the Millennium Development Forty seven per cent of women had
deliveries with skilled health provider, it said. A majority 56
per cent women use contraceptives. Condom use was high at 61 per
cent for women and 52 per cent for men, Knowledge about HIV/AIDS
has also increased. Wh