Bhubaneswar: Odisha has made a visible progress in eliminating preventable maternal deaths, gender-based violence, child marriage and use of contraceptives suggested data presented at a consultation on sexual reproductive health and rights organised by United Nations Population Fund here today.
As per the statistics, the number of pregnant women in Odisha going for 3 or more Ante Natal Checkup (ANC) doubled between 1991-92 and 2015-16. “While Institutional Deliveries increased by 5 folds in Odisha, Maternal Mortality Ratio reduced by more than half,” shared Dr Deepa Prasad, State Programme Coordinator, UNFPA.
“Many women today have better lives than their mothers and can hope for even more for their daughters. But unfortunately, these gains have not been experienced equally by all,” said Prasad while addressing an audience of adolescents, LGBT, persons with disability and representatives from civil society organisations added Prasad urging the participants to work with ambition and commitment to meet the unfinished goals.
Similarly, the number of girls marrying before the age of 18 years and cases of adolescent pregnancy has reduced by half during the same period said Kumar Manish.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Bimal Prasad Pandia from Oxfam shared how the sexual reproductive health requirements increase during disasters
Similarly, the LGBT community in the state are vulnerable to physical and sexual abuse, social stigma and experience barriers accessing healthcare, informed Mr. Biswa Bhusan Pattnaik.
Dr Samir Kumar Das, Director, Department of Health and Family Welfare, Odisha said that many women in Odisha still struggle with challenges with choice and consent over family planning and family expectations around marriage and child bearing. More 72 participants from various CSOs attended in this consultation meet.
The consultation was organised to discuss 25 years of International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD25) .
ICPD stands for the International Conference on Population and Development, a 1994 meeting in Cairo where 179 governments adopted a revolutionary Programme of Action and called for women’s reproductive health and rights to take centre stage in national and global development efforts.
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