Expressing her concern over the state of women’s health in the country, actor Sharmila Tagore said on Tuesday that it remains largely neglected. “In some places, this neglect takes place due to ignorance and in others, socio-economic factors play an important role.” she said.
In a country where there were 980 women for every 1000 men, it was the duty of the family, society and, above all, the country to pay attention to women’s health.
Ms Tagore was speaking at the launch of a book, Janani , on women’s health and motherhood by Dr. Gautam Khastgir, a gynaecologist. Expressing unhappiness over the instances of women dying during childbirth, she said: “in India, 51 children are born every minute … But the harsh reality is, every 10 minutes a woman dies due to complications at the time of childbirth.”
West Bengal Health & Family Welfare Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya said the State government had achieved a “sharp reduction in maternal mortality rate.”
It had decreased from 145 deaths per every one lakh women to 117. “Now our target is to bring it down to 109.”
