WHY WE DO

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WHY WE DO

As per Census 2011, the population of children (0-18 years) in India is 472 million. The graph here depicts the population of literate v/s illiterate population for different age groups in India. In India, a literate person is one who can read and write and is of age seven years or more. In the age group of 0-6 years, none of the children population is literate as is inherent in the definition of literacy. As we move up the age groups we see that the illiterate population on an average falls, however a significant population still remains illiterate.
Pathetic conditions our children go through and mere inequality needs to be addressed. Each child have their own dreams and right to work towards it. To liberate children from a life of suffering a comprehensively designed program needs to address these issues. To ensure government and civil society initiatives reach the children join us to give them access to their rights.

EDUCATION

At-least 35 million children aged 6 – 14 years do not attend school.

CHILD LABOUR

85% of working children are in the unorganized sectors.

HEALTH AND NUTRITION

Only 38% of India’s children below the age of 2 years are immunized.

CHILD ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION

109 children are abused every day in India in 2018.

GIRL CHILD

Every sixth girl child’s death is due to gender discrimination.

MENTAL HEALTH

Nearly 50 million Indian children suffer from mental disorders.

"Every effort matters!"

EDUCATION

  • Less than half of India’s children between the age 6 and 14 go to school.
  • A little over one-third of all children who enroll in grade one reach grade eight.
  • Atleast 35 million children aged 6 – 14 years do not attend school.
  • 1 in 4 children of school-going age is out of school in our country – 99 million children in total have dropped out of school (Census 2011).
  • Out of every 100 children, only 32 children finish their school education age appropriately (District Information System for Education (DISE) 2014-15).
  • Only 2% of the schools offer complete school education from Class 1 to Class 12 (District Information System for Education (DISE) 2014-15).
  • In India, only 53% of habitation has a primary school.
  • In India, only 20% of habitation has a secondary school.
  • On an average an upper primary school is 3 km away in 22% of areas under habitations.
  • In nearly 60% of schools, there are less than two teachers to teach Classes I to V.
  • On an average, there are less than three teachers per primary school. They have to manage classes from I to V every day.
  • High cost of private education and need to work to support their families and little interest in studies are the reasons given by 3 in every four drop-outs as the reason they leave.
  • High cost of private education and need to work to support their families and little interest in studies are the reasons given by 3 in every four drop-outs as the reason they leave.
  • Dropout rates increase alarmingly in class III to V, its 50% for boys, 58% for girls.
  • 50% of Indian children aged 6-18 do not go to school.
  • 53% of girls in the age group of 5 to 9 years are illiterate.

CHILD LABOUR

  • According to the Census 2001 figures there are 1.26 crore working children in the age group of 5-14 as compared to the total child population of 25.2 crore.
  • As per survey conducted by National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) in 2004-05, the number of working children is estimated at 90.75 lakh.
  • As per Census 2011, the number of working children in the age group of 5-14 years has further reduced to 43.53 lakh.
  • Most of the children were sent to work by compulsion and not by choice, mostly by parents, but with recruiter playing a crucial role in influencing decision.
  • When working outside the family, children put in an average of 21 hours of labor per week.
  • 19% of children employed work as domestic help.
  • 90% working children are in rural India.
  • 85% of working children are in the unorganized sectors.
  • About 80% of child labour is engaged in agricultural work.
  • Millions of children work to help their families because the adults do not have appropriate employment and income thus forfeiting schooling and opportunities to play and rest.
  • Children also work because there is demand for cheap labour. High incidence of child labour is a result of high incidence of adult unemployment.
  • Large numbers of children work simply because there is no alternative – since, they do not have access to good quality schools.
  • Poor and bonded families often “sell” their children to contractors who promise lucrative jobs in the cities and the children end up being employed in brothels, hotels and domestic work. Many run away and find a life on the streets.
  • There are approximately 2 million child commercial sex workers between the age of 5 and 15 years and about 3.3 million between 15 and 18 years.
  • They form 40% of the total population of commercial sex workers in India.
  • 80% of these are found in the 5 metros.
  • 71% of them are illiterate.
  • 500,000 children are forced into this trade every year.

HEALTH AND NUTRITION

  • The MoHFW along with UNICEF is conducting a comprehensive survey to assess the nutritional status of more than 115,000 children and adolescents (aged 0-19 yr) in all States of India.
  • 70 in every 1000 children born in India do not see their first birthday. The total number of such children works out to 2 million.
  • 21% of the births in the country were home births.
  • 58% of India’s children below the age of 2 years are not fully vaccinated. And 24% of these children do not receive any form of vaccination.
  • 95 in every 1000 children born in India do not see their fifth birthday.
  • Only 38% of India’s children below the age of 2 years are immunized.
  • 74% of India’s children below the age of 3 months are anaemic.
  • 1% (1 in 5) of the children in the country suffer from wasting
  • Over 60% of children in India are anemic. 74% of India’s children below the age of 3 months are anaemic.
  • 1% (1 in 5) of the children in the country suffer from wasting
  • Over 60% of children in India are anemic.
  • Acute respiratory infections are leading causes of child mortality (30%) followed by diarrhea (20%) in India.
  • One in every 100 children in India between age group of 0-14 years suffers from acute respiratory infection.
  • Almost one in every five children in India below the age of 14 suffers from diarrhea.
  • 58% of India’s children below the age of 2 years are not fully vaccinated. And 24% of these children do not receive any form of vaccination.
  • Only 38% of India’s children below the age of 2 years are immunized.
  • Almost one in every five children in India below the age of 14 suffers from diarrhea, an easily preventable disease.
  • More than 50% of India’s children are malnourished.
  • While one in every five adolescent boys is malnourished, one in every two girls in India is undernourished.
  • 36% of children under 5 years of age are underweight in India.
  • The Census 2011 showed that, in India, 20.42 lakhs children aged 0-6 years are disabled which constitute 1.24% of all 0-6 years’ age group children.
  • As per Census 2011, the number of disabled children in the age group 10-19 years is 46.2 lakhs.

CHILD ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION

  • One in every five children do not feel safe because of the fear of being sexually abused.
  • AIMS survey 2019 says 4 lakh children and 1.8 million adults need help for inhalant abuse and dependence.
  • NCRB data reveals that rate of crime against children (below 18 years of age) has increased to 24 per lakh children in 2016 from 21.1 in 2015.
  • Under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO) crimes reported areas high as 34.4% of total crime against children.
  • 35,849 cases of juveniles in conflict with the law have been registered in the year 2016, showing an increase of 7.2 per cent over the 33,433 cases of 2015.
  • A 2013 report by the Asian Center for Human Rights reveal that sexual offences against children in India were at an ‘epidemic level’ ranking among the top 5 countries with the highest rate of child sexual abuse.
  • 109 children are abused every day in India in 2018.
  • Every day, around 150 children go missing in India – kidnapping and abduction is the largest crime against children in our country (National Crime Record Bureau 2016).
  • Fear of failure in examinations in the second highest cause of suicides in children.
  • According to the report on crimes in India for 2016, released by Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi, 106,958 cases of crimes against children were recorded in 2016.
  • According to a 2007 study conducted by India’s ministry of women and child development, 53% of children surveyed said they had been subjected to some form of sexual abuse.

GIRL CHILD

  • 42% of married women in India were married as children (District Information
    System for Education (DISE) 3).
  • 1 in every 3 child brides in the world is a girl in India (UNICEF).
  • India has more than 45 lakh girls under 15 years of age who are married with children. Out of these, 70% of the girls have 2 children (Census 2011).
  • 1 out of every 6 girls does not live to see her 15th birthday.
  • Of the 12 million girls born in India, 1 million do not see their first birthday.
  • Of the 12 million girls born in India, 3 million do not see their fifteenth birthday, and a million of them are unable to survive even their first birthday.
  • One-third of these deaths take place at birth.
  • Every sixth girl child’s death is due to gender discrimination.
  • Females are victimized far more than males during childhood.
  • 3 lakh more girls than boys die every year.
  • Female mortality exceeds male mortality in 224 out of 402 districts in India.
  • Death rate among girls below the age of 4 years is higher than that of boys.
  • Even if she escapes infanticide or feticide, a girl child is less likely to receive immunization, nutrition or medical treatment compared to a male child.
  • The birth of a girl child is not welcomed. Right from her arrival, she faces discrimination, humiliation, and oppression at every stage of life. When it comes to healthcare, education and growth opportunities, she is neglected because of her gender.

MENTAL HEALTH

  • Nearly 50 million Indian children suffer from mental disorders.
  • the prevalence of child and adolescent mental disorders varying from 1.06% to 5.84% in rural areas, 0.8% to 29.4% in urban areas, and 12.5% to 16.5%.
  • National Mental Health Survey 2016 reported that the prevalence of mental disorders is 7.3% among children aged 13–17 years and it is similar in both genders.
  • The prevalence among urban children is nearly double 13.5% compared to the rural children 6.9%.
  • It is estimated that about 9.8 millions of Indian aged 13–17 years suffer from serious mental illness which would be greater in number if the entire age spectrum of childhood and adolescence is considered.
  • Another report published by the WHO showed that the prevalence of suicide is 21.1/100,000 population and nearly 258,075 Indians committed suicide in 2012 among which a large proportion are students aged 0–19 years.
  • The economic burden of neuropsychiatric disorders outweighs other noncommunicable diseases and it can be as high as 4% of the gross national product (GNP) among which nearly 2% was accounted for treating mentally ill people. The indirect cost of mental illness would include the time given by the caregivers, lost economic opportunities of the patients as well as caregivers due to the illness and many other factors- which implies a greater burden than the direct cost of the treatment itself. Such high economic burden due to CAMH disorders cannot be overlooked considering the size of the population at risk and the potential benefits of timely intervention to address mental illness among children.