Ahmedabad, Gujarat has achieved the first rank in the country for the second straight time in ‘Good Health and Well-being‘ category as per the SDG India Index 2023-24 report released by the NITI Aayog, the state government said on Tuesday.
SDG India Index 2023-24, the fourth edition of the country’s principal tool for measuring progress on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), was released last month. The Index computes goal-wise scores on the 16 SDGs for each state and Union Territory. SDGs are part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by all United Nations members in 2015.
“It is a matter of great joy and pride for Gujarat that in the SDG Index announced by the NITI Aayog, Gujarat has ranked first in the country for the second time in a row in the category of Good Health and Well-being. We could achieve this due to a major reduction in maternal and child mortality, institutional delivery and increase in complete immunization of children,” Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said in a post on X.
The state government has also done a commendable job in controlling infectious diseases like TB, ensured a massive reduction in the spread of HIV-AIDS, and increased the medical and paramedical manpower, he added. Health Minister Rishikesh Patel congratulated all healthcare workers for this achievement, said an official release.
In 2018, when the first SDG Index Report was published by NITI Aayog, Gujarat’s score for health goal was 52, which has now reached 90, said the release, adding that it was much higher than the country’s average score of 77.
The criteria for deciding the score for the health goal were maternal mortality rate, infant mortality rate, child immunization, institutional delivery, registration of TB cases, HIV cases, life expectancy, road accident mortality, suicide rate, health workforce ratio and out-of-pocket health expenditure.
Average life expectancy in Gujarat is 70.5 years as against 70 in the country. Institutional birth rate is 99.94 percent in Gujarat against the national average of 97.18 percent. Maternal mortality rate is 57 against the national average of 97, said the release.
