CHENNAI: Tamilnadu has scored high in India’s First Child Well-Being Index which was launched on Wednesday by World Vision India and IFMR LEAD at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.
The Child Well-Being Index is a tool designed to measure and track children’s well-being comprehensively. The three dimensions of the index include healthy individual development, positive relationships and protective contexts. Focusing on the three key dimensions, 24 indicators were selected to develop the computation of the child well-being index.
The index captures the performance of each State and Union Territory on a composite child well-being score. The report has ranked Kerala (0.76), Tamil Nadu (0.67) and Himachal Pradesh (0.67) as the top-performing states while Meghalaya (0.53), Jharkhand (0.50) and Madhya Pradesh (0.44) have featured at the bottom. Among the Union Territories, Puducherry topped the chart with a score of 0.77 while on the other hand Dadra and Nagar Haveli were adjourned the worst performing with a composite score of 0.52.
“The India Child Well Being Index is a crucial report that can be mined both by the Government and civil organisations to achieve the goal of child well-being and we will use this report effectively. This report provides insights on health, nutrition education, sanitation and child protection. Our government is fully committed towards securing the rights and well-being of children and for this, we are making investments in this regard”, said Mr Amitabh Kant, CEO- Niti Ayog speaking about the significance of this report.
Sharon Buteau, Executive Director, IFMR LEAD, stressed on the need for more research on this subject and added that they hope to draw more
attention to child well-being through this study. “The research has brought to the fore compelling insights on child well-being in India. Some of the key indicators that need to be studied in the future include mobile usage, digital access, financial literacy, mental health and quality of relationships per se, between parents/peers and children”, she elaborated.
Urging stakeholders to prioritise children and invest in their well-being Cherian Thomas, National Director and CEO, World Vision India added, “Children have the potential to transform the country, but if neglected, they will exacerbate the burden of poverty and inequality”.
This report has come as a call for states to look at their respective scores on the dimensions of child well-being, and to prepare for priority areas of intervention with specific plans of action.
Moreover, it also aims to trigger policy level changes, seek better budgetary allocations and initiate discussions with all stakeholders which can help in enhancing the quality of life of all children in the country.
