India

• Population - 1,189,172,906
• Infant Mortality Rate - 47.57 deaths/1,000 live births
• Life Expectancy – 66.8 years
• Population below poverty line - 25%
• Year ChildFund entered India – 1966

Quick Facts

• India is the second most populous country in the world accounting for 17% of the world’s population.
• India’s population is growing at an annual rate of approximately 1.3%.
• New Delhi is the capital city of India with just over 21 million people.
• India’s main industries are: chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment, cement and mining. The main sources of agriculture are: Rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, cattle and fish. India’s main exports are: goods, gems and jewellery, engineering goods, chemicals and leather manufactures.
• The currency is the Indian rupee.
• India’s main religion is Hinduism, with around 81% of the population. Whilst the Muslim population of India is only around 13%, it is still one of the largest Muslim populations globally!
• India suffers from hazardous weather conditions such as droughts, flash floods, monsoonal flooding, severe thunderstorms and earthquakes.

Priority Issues

• Approximately 46% of Indian children under 3 are too small for their age, 47% are underweight and at least 16% show signs of wasting. Many of these children are severely malnourished.
• After respiratory-tract infections, diarrhoea is the second major cause of death among children. Unhygienic practices and unsafe drinking water are some of its main causes.
• More than 122 million households in the country are without toilets.
• With an estimated 12.6 million children engaged in hazardous occupations, India has the largest number of child labourers under the age of 14 in the world.
• It is estimated that 20% of Indian children between the ages 6-14 years do not attend school.
• Only about 60% of India’s population are literate.
• India’s Human Development Index (HDI) is very low, ranking 127^th out of 177 countries worldwide.

ChildFund Intervention

ChildFund India has positively impacted over a million children and their families since 1966. Working in partnership with 130 local partners, ChildFund India currently supports health, education and micro-enterprise projects that impact the communities and families of India. Currently, ChildFund assists 67,000 children in 97 projects with over 450 children having sponsors from Ireland. ChildFund affiliated projects are located in both urban and rural areas.

ChildFund India focuses on child health by facilitating the vaccinations in a large-scale polio immunisation programme. Additionally, regular health care is provided to children through medical check-ups and referral services. Periodic nutritional assessments are made, and for children identified as malnourished, special feedings are provided. Children with disabilities receive special physical therapy and to ensure healthy development ChildFund provides the needed equipment such as crutches and hearing aids.

Children in ChildFund assisted areas are encouraged to continue their education. ChildFund India assisted children receive educational materials such as uniforms books and the payment of school fees. Special classes are offered for children who are struggling to learn, and regular follow-up visits are undertaken to improve the quality of education among the children.

In an effort to alleviate the strain of cultural biases, ChildFund India has implemented self-help groups to target women who have low literacy rates. The women may have lowered rates because of gender discrimination, social taboos or cultural biases. The groups promote literacy as well as leadership, social advocacy and women’s rights. Women who participate in the groups are also taught business skills, record keeping, entrepreneurship and management of thrift and credit activities.

An example of a successful programme in India is Community Seva Centre, in southern India. The majority of the people in the villages earn their livelihood from fishing. Some families are also engaged in agricultural activities. They live in small huts made of mud walls with tile or thatched roofs. In the villages, the level of awareness on health and hygiene issues was very limited. As a result of ChildFund’s efforts, the situation is now improving. To educate mothers on increasing nutritional value of the food, special demonstration sessions are held for mothers and primary care givers. Families are encouraged to grow vegetables in their small plots to supplement their nutritional needs.

Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) centres were set up in order. These centres are equipped with sufficient learning and play materials to make the teaching-learning process enjoyable for children. The children are also given midday meals and trained professionals regularly monitor their growth.

In terms of education for school age children, conscious efforts are made to reduce school dropout rates. Special classes are conducted to teach yoga, drawing, music and dance. Vocational training programmes are also conducted in various trades like coir production, repairing electrical appliances, mechanical repair and tailoring.

Child protection activities are integrated into all health, education, livelihood and other programmes implemented by the local community organisation. Furthermore, child participation is given utmost priority where youth and children are encouraged to participate in the programmes through children’s clubs, youth clubs and other community and school based platforms.

Women empowerment is another major concern for the community.  So far, 226 Self-Help Groups have been supported and members of these groups have been given training in micro-enterprise development, accounts keeping and development of leadership skills.