Taking strong objections to the recent statement made by a senior representative of World Health Organisation (WHO) on the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) in India, the Government on Monday said that they are confident to reach the targets. Disturbed by the claim made by WHO official that India would not be able to achieve the targets, the Union health ministry has also written to the WHO asking to issue a clarification in this regard. Dr Nata Menabde, WHO representative to India, had earlier said that India will miss 2015 MDG. Citing that India will miss the target of under five mortality rate and Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR), Dr Menabde had said that India will be able to achieve its unfinished targets only after 2015.
However, based on the trends, the health ministry on Monday said that they should be able to achieve the MDG target. Claiming that the remarks made by the senior WHO official”hypothetical,” the health ministry in their strongly worded letter has asked Dr Menabde to issue a clarification in this regard.
According to senior official in the health ministry, in respect of under five mortality among children, the MDG target is to reduce it by two thirds between 1990 and 2015. “In case of India, it translates into a goal of reducing it from 115 per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 38 in 2015. The rate of decline should continue to improve further,” said the letter.
Further, as per the MDG targets, the MMR is to be reduced by three quarters between 1990 to 2015.