India′s progress toward achieving the millennium development goals

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which include eight goals were framed to address the worlds major development challenges with health and its related areas as the prime focus. In India considerable progress has been made in the field of basic universal education gender equality in education and global economic growth. However there is slow progress in the improvement of health indicators related to mortality morbidity and various environmental factors contributing to poor health conditions. Even though the government has implemented a wide array of programs policies and various schemes to combat these health challenges further intensification of efforts and redesigning of outreach strategies is needed to give momentum to the progress toward achievement of the MDGs. The MDGs adopted by the United Nations in the year 2000 project the efforts of the international community to spare no effort to free our fellow men women and children from the abject and dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty. The MDGs are eight goals to be achieved by 2015 that respond to the worlds main development challenges. These goals are further subdivided into 18 numerical targets which are further measured by means of 40 quantifiable indicators. Health constitutes the prime focus of the MDGs. While three out of eight goals are directly related to health the other goals are related to factors which have a significant influence on health. Hence the goals and targets are inter-related in many ways. The eight MDG goals are to (1) eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; (2) achieve universal basic education; (3) promote gender equality and empower women; (4) reduce child mortality; (5) improve maternal health; (6) combat HIV/AIDS malaria and other diseases; (7) ensure environmental sustainability; (8) develop a global partnership for development. Ever since Indias independence in 1947 various national health schemes programs and policies have been launched with the view to improve the health status of people. The most recently launched National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) in 2005 aims to improve and strengthen the existing rural health care with the phased increase of funding amounting to 2-3 % of gross somestic product (GDP) as well as to bring out some innovative interventions. In addition the NRHM has addressed two of the major problems identified under the MDGs i.e. poor governance and policy neglect. The half-way point in the time period of achievement of the MDGs has already been crossed. It is therefore crucial to capture Indias achievements toward attaining the MDGs and to analyze the challenges and policies with reference to the goals and targets.