Country Highlight: India
India’s huge population, estimated at just over 1.1 billion in 2005, conceals important longer-term trends. Fertility levels in India have been declining steadily over the past several decades, and the total fertility rate now stands at 3.4 births per woman, on average, though with wide regional variations. Population growth rates have declined to 1.5 per cent per year, and nearly half the population of reproductive age uses modern contraceptives. However, with two-thirds of all deliveries taking place at home, the country’s maternal mortality ratio remains high at 540 deaths per 100,000 live births.
Though the rural-urban gap in the level of human development continues to be significant, it has been narrowing. The level of poverty is declining slowly, but has not been uniform either across states or across rural and urban areas. The illiteracy rate among women continues to drop. Despite these positive trends, several issues continue to be of concern. Although India is one of the few countries that initiated HIV prevention activities in the very early stages of the pandemic, awareness about its causes, transmission routes and prevention is low, especially among rural women, and stigma and discrimination against those with HIV remains a serious challenge to prevention efforts.
Female child sex ratios have deteriorated in several states and continue to decline. In some states there are 106 boys for every 100 girls. Issues relating to gender and reproductive rights, gender-based violence, men’s involvement and quality of care increasingly are being discussed as part of the policy and programme debate. Given the constitutional mandate, various national policies in India have been formulated to address inequities faced by women, especially their limited access to quality reproductive health care services. In 2000, the government approved India’s National Population Policy, which calls for population stabilization. The policy reiterates a commitment to voluntary and informed choice and the consent of citizens while accessing reproductive health care and family planning services. Several state population policies have also been developed.
Source: Country Profiles for Population and Reproductive Health: Policy Developments and Indicators 2005, Population Reference Bureau and UNFPA, www.unfpa.org/profile/index.cfm