The Child Well-Being Index, released recently, is a tool designed to measure and track children’s well-being through three dimensions of healthy individual development, positive relationships and protective contexts. The report highlights the multi-dimensional approach towards measuring child well-being — going beyond mere income poverty. The NITI Aayog cited the report as crucial & significant in securing the rights of children and achieving the goal of child well-being, using a composite Child well-being Index.

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The index has been developed by NGOs World Vision India and IFMR LEAD. Focusing on the three key dimensions, 24 indicators were selected to develop the computation of the child well-being index.

Key findings of the report:

• Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh and Puducherry topped the charts.
• Meghalaya, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh featured at the bottom.
• The data shows that even states that are performing best in overall child well-being, are not doing so well in indicators of health.

Challenges faced:

Health:

• unequal sex ratio
• stunted-underweight children
• access to institutional delivery is low
• low child survival rate: a higher number of children were dying before they turned five
• sanitation facilities
• immunisation

Social:

• Incomplete schooling, since more children were dropping out of school
• budget for children
• Gender gap in education for girls

Rights:

• juvenile crimes and crimes against children
• child marriage
• child labour
• pornography
• child adoption

Measures needed:

• Effective implementation of the laws and programs available in the country.
• There is a need for regionally-targeted policy reorientation to better cater to children’s needs.
• To ensure that India’s future generation is physically healthy and mentally sound
• States should look at their respective scores on the dimensions of child well-being, and prepare for priority areas of intervention with specific plans of action.
• This should also 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.

Conclusion:

Children have the potential to transform the country, but if neglected, they will exacerbate the burden of poverty and inequality. It is imperative that all stakeholders prioritise and invest in the well-being of our children