Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu state has made rapid progress in social and economic development and in addressing women and children's issues over the past decade. Many initiatives from the state have become model for the rest of the country. However the state presents contradictions and disparities in the levels of social - economic and health care development in different regions and districts
Though the state average for key child survival and development indicators is good, there are pockets of backwardness where these indicators are almost at the same level as those in poor performing states.
Despite great strides in women’s development, the child sex ratio has shown a steady downward trend and is 942 girls per 1000 boys as per the 2001 census, down from 948 in 1991 indicating the prevalence of infanticide and female feticide. Five districts have a sex ratio of below 900 in the state. There are blocks where the juvenile female sex ratio is less than 700.
Neonatal mortality which constitutes 70% of IMR and child malnutrition are major concerns. The state still has 33% of its children in the 0-3 age group malnourished.
Exclusive breast feeding at 33.3% as against an India average of 45.3% is an area seeking priority attention. Though the state has started procuring vitamin A from their own budget, the coverage levels are low at 37.2%. Anemia is a major concern with 53.5% women and 72.5 % children anaemic in the state (NFHS - III, 2006).
The sanitation coverage has reached 76% (Department of Drinking Water Supply, Govt.of India - 2007) with a strong push from the Government in the past couple of years. However the usage rate is only around two thirds of that. A UNICEF supported A.F.Ferguson (AFF) study (in 2006) shows that only in 31% of the households all the members use toilets. Ground water contamination by faecal coli form bacteria is widespread in the rural water sources, in some places as high as 85%.
The fast track industrialization in the state has also led to rapid urbanization with almost half the population in the state living in urban areas. The IMR in urban areas has been stagnant in the recent years.
In Education, while the quantitative indicators for enrolment and transition are good, quality remains a concern. Reports for the past two years indicate that nearly 50% of class 5 students do not have reading fluency appropriate for their grade level. Even at class 8 level, only 30% can read at grade 2 level. In mathematics, only 53% of class 8 students could do subtraction and more. Only 49% could do division (ASER - 2008)
In HIV/AIDS, over the past few years there are signs of stabilization of the epidemic in the state that can be attributed to effective public private partnerships and strong political commitment for the cause. Within the currently estimated (247,000) persons infected, 5000 are children (NACO - 2007).
T
amil Nadu still has a number of issues to tackle from a social protection perspective. According to a study done by an NGO named Tulir on 2006 in Chennai 42% of children reported sexual abuse.
The percentage of boys reporting abuse was more than girls. A number of issues of children on the margins remain to be addressed – disability, homelessness, street children, destitute and children without parental care, HIV/Aids and so on. 24 percent of the women are married before the age of 18 in the State and child marriage is rampant in certain districts like Krishnagiri, Salem and Dharmapuri. The state ranks among the highest in reported cases of violence against women.
Though there is declining trend in the incidence and magnitude of child labour and increase in school enrollment in the state, child labour is becoming a phenomenon in certain newly emerging occupations like cotton seed production. Socially excluded and marginalized communities remain as a source of child labour supply.
Recent trend in Tamil Nadu is the huge inflow of migrant workers (adults and children) with their families from other states like Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh. They work mostly in construction, brick kilns and other informal sectors all over the state. These families and children are deprived of their basic rights.
Social Exclusion-The Scheduled Castes (SCs) constitute 19% of the population which is higher than the national average of 16.3 %. Other Backward Castes constitute 73.4%, far above the national average of 32.4%. It is estimated that almost 70% of the SC-ST live in rural areas.
While the overall literacy rate for the state is 73.4%, the corresponding figures for SCs and STs are much lower at 63.1% and 41.5%.The SC/ST communities in Tamil Nadu suffer from various stereotypes about their social roles and are discriminated in educational and occupational spheres.
The children of SC communities continue to undergo various forms of discrimination both in schools, religious places and society at large. Environment in Residential facilities for SC/ST school children is not conducive for educational development of children and educational performance of SC/ST children remains lower compared to other sections. Districts with poor health indicators have proportionately a high percentage of SC/ST population. (Census 2001).
Emergencies- The eastern coast of Tamil Nadu is prone to cyclones, with five districts more vulnerable than the rest, coming under the threat almost every year. Tamil Nadu is also highly vulnerable in the event of an avian flu threat, considering the huge poultry industry in the state.
UNICEF and Tamil Nadu
The major thrust of the UNICEF supported programme in Tamil Nadu is advocacy and influencing policy - development, implementation, and improvement - cutting across all programmes at the state and local levels.
Creating a sense of urgency in achieving the MDGs in the state with state specific goals, adopting different strategies for accelerated action and setting up of monitoring mechanisms at the state level are focus areas. UNICEF interventions focus on setting quality standards and strengthening monitoring systems across sectors.
The programme also facilitates visibility to exclusion issues and advocate for focused interventions for inclusion of the marginalized communities. Creation of a protective environment for children in the state and promoting child participation remain priorities.
KERALA
Kerala is characterized by high human development measured in terms of high life expectancy, low infant mortality rate and high literacy rates. Kerala has made significant strides in the areas of universal access to education, increasing literacy, reducing infant mortality and maternal mortality and improving household sanitation.
However, increasing child malnutrition rates, poor access to safe drinking water, falling immunization levels and low levels of quality of education are major concerns.
According to 2001 census data , 72% of households in Kerala depend on open wells for drinking purpose and only 20% depend on piped water supply. During the summer season the proportion of people collecting water from the piped water supply schemes is comparatively less since most of the sources get dried up. As a result the residents resort to use private open dug wells for drinking water.
While the benefits of highly sustained budgetary allocation for social sectors in the past are evident in the progress achieved in the past, investments in infrastructure have lagged in recent years. With relatively less allocations from the Central Government and the poor financial condition of the state, public service delivery has suffered.
The state has no funds for even essential supplies like IFA tablets.
Disparity exists in Kerala. Those particularly vulnerable are tribal communities and pockets of urban settlements and selected coastal communities having lower health and nutritional status over along period of time.
While Kerala has performed well in terms of enrolment and retention of children, educational achievements have raised concerns. Only 61% of Fourth graders could read Level 2 text, and 25% could do division. At Grade 8 level, only 16% could do subtraction.
The social tensions resulting from increasing disparity, academic competition, increasing high cost of private services, and high unmet expectation of standards of living manifest themselves in a number of ways. Kerala has the highest rate of alcohol consumption in India, which coupled with a high rate of unemployment and other tensions, lead to domestic violence and an increasing number of suicides in the teen-age population.
In a study on Child Abuse by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India in 2007, Kerala reports several forms of abuses consistently. 43.9% of girls and 56.1% of boys reported physical abuse in one or more situations. 55.4% boys and 44.9% girls reported sexual abuse. It is also important to note that under the section on emotional abuse 64.8% of girls reported abuse as compared to 35.1% boys, drawing attention to the need for focusing on gender issues.
To understand fully the opportunity and constraints affecting women and children in Kerala, it is essential to recognize the impressive commitment and advances that the Government has made since 1996 in decentralizing financial and decision-making powers to its 999 Panchayats, 52 municipalities and 5 corporations. The local bodies have been given full administrative and executive control. In 2002, the government created a “Child and Elderly Component Plan” representing 5% of the Panchayat or approximately Rs.65 crores ($13.5 million US) a year, besides the allocation for education, child development and health. 10% of the funds are reserved exclusively for activities for women.
The programme in Kerala focuses on strengthening the decentralized governance for the betterment of children with particular focus on vulnerable children, child survival, malnutrition, quality education and child protection issues including children affected by HIV/AIDS. Establishing state targets and goals for MDGs and mobilizing various stakeholders including the departments, academic institutions including schools of social work for creating a sense of urgency for achievement of the goals is the priority.
In 2009, UNICEF will support the Government of Kerala to come out with a ‘Comprehensive Children’s Act’ for children and also to implement the Integrataed Child Protection Scheme announced by the Government of India. UNICEF will support to map the water quality problems affecting the state, develop preventive and curative measures for the problematic water quality parameters and subsequently recommend specific policy guidelines for ensuring drinking water safety measures. UNICEF is also supporting state level policies for protection of HIV affected children. Building on the existing initiative by Kudumbhashree to facilitate Children’s panchayat, UNICEF support will be for universalizing Children’s panchayat in the state, thereby strengthening child participation.
For More Details Contact
Thomas George
Communication Specalist
Chennai Field Office
37/15,Second Main Road
Kasturbai Nagar Adyar
Tel: 044 4289 1111, 044 2441 0761- 67
Chennai - 600 018
Fax: 044 4289 1122
Email: chennai@unicef.org
