Short Answer TypeRead the passage and answer the following questions:
India is working with the UN to tackle these issues on a global scale. UN secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon is championing two new initiatives – Every Woman Every Child and the Sust ainable Energy for All Initiative – because access to energy and improving women and chil dren‘ s health are fundamental to achieving all our development goals. India is an exampl e of how a commitment to these two goals leads to results.
A bright future for India begins with increased efforts to promote safe motherhood. According to USAID, today, India accounts for more maternal deaths than any other country in the world; avoidable complications during pregnancy and childbirth kill approximately 67,000 Indian women annually. These unfortunate statistics are a reality in part because many Indian mothers are still in their teens; nearly one-third of all women deliver a child before the age of 20.
The Indian Government has committed to promoting maternal health and family planning, pledging to spend $ 3.5 billion per year on improving health services, especially women's and children's health. India's Ministry of Health has announced it is strengthening efforts in the 264 districts that account for nearly 70% of all infant and maternal deaths. The government is implementing a Mother and Child Tracking System, which tracks every pregnant woman by name for the provision of timely antenatal care, institutional delivery, postnatal care, and immunisations for newborns.
Define maternal mortality rate.
