March 30, 2022
Santanu Sen’s Zero Hour mention on need for better health services & education for adolescent women
Sir, my subject is of immense importance – ‘Need for better health services and education for adolescent girls.’ Sir, India has the largest adolescent population of nearly 253 million. Every fifth person in India belongs to the 15-19 years age group. During the Covid pandemic, the World of India’s Girls (WINGS) 2022, did a study in the four States of Maharashtra, Delhi, Bihar and Telangana. They have recorded that a maximum of 51 per cent of adolescent girls have access to healthcare services while the remaining 49 per cent don’t have the access. Let me cite some examples of the problems they suffer from. One of them is lack of education. The National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights, NCPCR, says that 40 per cent of them do not attend schools. Talking about dropout students, India is the tenth largest country in the world. We have a project called Beti Bachao Beti Padao, but unfortunately, 75 per cent of the total funds allocated for this scheme are spent for advertisement purposes. Sir, menstrual hygiene is another very important issue. There is reproductive and sexual health as well. Talking about mental and psychological health, India shoulders 36.6 per cent of the total number of suicidal cases in the world. Suicides in the 15-19 age group surpass even cases of maternal mortality. This age group suffers from grave injuries at different points of time. In cases of gender-based violence, alcohol and drug abuse, rural adolescent girls are affected more than urban adolescent girls. Also, there are cases of excessive tobacco use, HIV and other infectious diseases and early pregnancy. Under the age of 16, early pregnancy rate is 22.6 per cent; below 13 years, the rate is 2.6 per cent. Of these, 57 per cent are anemic while 42 per cent are malnourished and underweight. They suffer from serious mental issues. Sir, investment in adolescent health would yield demographic and economic dividends for the country. Talking about our State, West Bengal, we run the Kanyashree project to promote girl child education up to the Post Doctorate level. We provide cycle to girls for easy access to schools through the Sabooj Saathi project. We provide shiksha, education, to the SC and ST population through Sikhashree project and we provide the Rupashree project to prevent early marriages. Sir, my humble submission to the Government is, please take up this issue very seriously because it is a very burning issue. It would help our nation in the future.
