News Watch: Case of the missing daughter

Case of the missing daughter
Unwanted — that’s the plight of the girl child in many parts of India. It doesn’t quite matter where she lives — in a shanty or mansion, a village or city, India or Canada — she’s often a minority, perched precariously between life and death.

Child Deaths Down, But Still Too Many: UNICEF
The report, entitled, "State of the World's Children 2008," points out that each day at least 26,000 children under the age of five die from preventable diseases such as pneumonia, diarrhea, and malaria.

Data and statistics on education in India

Mother and Child
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Opinion/Editorial/Mother_and_Child/articleshow/2725901.cms
Of the 9.7 million child deaths worldwide annually, one-third occur in India. Unesco's 2008 report on the state of the world's children presents an acutely embarrassing picture of infant and child mortality in the country.

The starvelings
Hunger has an even bigger impact on children's health than was thought. Hunger causes disease as well as death. According to the Lancet, malnutrition in the first two years is irreversible. Malnourished children grow up with worse health and lower educational achievements. Their own children also tend to be smaller.

When hunger kills
Of the ones that are lucky enough to survive, 8.3 million are babies born underweight. The situation worsens as these babies grow older. Every third child who is underweight, and under five, in the world is an Indian.

Community to be involved in bringing children to school
The larger community needs to be convinced that it is a “vibrant player” in ensuring educational access to all, she added. Though the number of out-of-school children had gone down from 10 lakh in 2000 to about one lakh in 2007, those who had remained out of the ambit of SSA programmes were “a matter of serious concern”, said Ms. Sharma.

Where is the space for children?
Article 31 of UN convention on child rights state, “Every child has a right to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts.” However, fulfillment of this right is a dubious dream.