24% of Indians aged 0-14: UNFPA report

NEW DELHI: India’s population is estimated to have reached 144.17 crore, with 24 per cent in the 0-14 age bracket, according to a recent report by the United Nations Population Fund.

The State of World Population-2024 report titled “Interwoven Lives, Threads of Hope: Ending Inequalities in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights” said maternal deaths in India have fallen considerably, accounting for 8 per cent of all such fatalities worldwide. “India’s success is often attributed to improved access to affordable, quality maternal health services as well as efforts to address the impact of gender discrimination on health outcomes,” the report said.

However, it noted that India continues to see dramatic inequities in maternal death risk. Quoting a report on “Estimates and Correlates of District-Level Maternal Mortality Ratio in India” by PLOS Global Public Health, it said recent research into India’s 640 districts revealed that while nearly a third reduced mortality ratio below 70 per 100,000 live births, 114 districts still have ratios of 210 or more.

Dalit activists have argued for legal protection for women facing caste-based discrimination in workplaces and education, the report said.

“Many will otherwise remain too poor to support their families and give their children a dignified life, contributing to a cycle that perpetuates poor sexual and reproductive health. Almost half of Dalit women, for instance, receive no antenatal care, and high rates of gender-based violence are considered a means of oppression and control.”

Millions of women and girls remain far behind, and progress is slowing or stalled on key measures - 800 women die every day giving birth, unchanged since 2016; a quarter of women cannot say no to sex with their partner and nearly one in 10 women cannot make their own decisions about contraception.