India ranked 77th on a sustainability index that takes into account per capita carbon emissions and ability of children in a nation to live healthy lives and secures 131st spot on a flourishing ranking that measures the best chance at survival and well-being for children, according to a UN-backed report.
The report was released on Wednesday by a commission of over 40 child and adolescent health experts from around the world. It was commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and The Lancet medical journal.
In the report assessing the capacity of 180 countries to ensure that their youngsters can survive and thrive, India ranks 77th on the Sustainability Index and 131 on the Flourishing Index, it said.
Flourishing is the geometric mean of Surviving and Thriving. For Surviving, the authors selected maternal survival, survival in children younger than 5 years old, suicide, access to maternal and child health services, basic hygiene and sanitation, and lack of extreme poverty.
For Thriving, the domains were educational achievement, growth and nutrition, reproductive freedom, and protection from violence.
Under the Sustainability Index, the authors noted that promoting today's national conditions for children to survive and thrive must not come at the cost of eroding future global conditions for children's ability to flourish.
The Sustainability Index ranks countries on excess carbon emissions compared with the 2030 target. This provides a convenient and available proxy for a country's contribution to sustainability in future.
The report noted that under realistic assumptions about possible trajectories towards sustainable greenhouse gas emissions, models predict that global carbon emissions need to be reduced from 39·7 giga tonnes to 22·8 gigatonnes per year by 2030 to maintain even a 66 per cent chance of keeping global warming below 1·5°C.
It said that the world's survival depended on children being able to flourish, but no country is doing enough to give them a sustainable future.
"No country in the world is currently providing the conditions we need to support every child to grow up and have a healthy future," said Anthony Costello, Professor of Global Health and Sustainability at University College London, one of the lead authors of the report.
"Especially, they're under immediate threat from climate change and from commercial marketing, which has grown hugely in the last decade," said Costello – former WHO Director of Mother, Child and Adolescent health.
Norway leads the table for survival, health, education and nutrition rates - followed by South Korea and the Netherlands. Central African Republic, Chad and Somalia come at the bottom.
However, when taking into account per capita CO2 emissions, these top countries trail behind, with Norway 156th, the Republic of Korea 166th and the Netherlands 160th.
Each of the three emits 210 per cent more CO2 per capita than their 2030 target, the data shows, while the US, Australia, and Saudi Arabia are among the 10 worst emitters. The lowest emitters are Burundi, Chad and Somalia.
According to the report, the only countries on track to beat CO2 emission per capita targets by 2030, while also performing fairly – within the top 70 – on child flourishing measures are: Albania, Armenia, Grenada, Jordan, Moldova, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Uruguay and Vietnam.
"More than 2 billion people live in countries where development is hampered by humanitarian crises, conflicts, and natural disasters, problems increasingly linked with climate change," said Minister Awa Coll-Seck from Senegal, Co-Chair of the commission.
The report also highlights the distinct threat posed to children from harmful marketing.
Evidence suggests that children in some countries see as many as 30,000 advertisements on television alone in a single year, while youth exposure to vaping (e-cigarettes) advertisements increased by more than 250 per cent in the US over two years, reaching more than 24 million young people.
Studies in Australia, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand and the US – among many others – have shown that self-regulation has not hampered commercial ability to advertise to children.
Children's exposure to commercial marketing of junk food and sugary beverages is associated with purchase of unhealthy foods and overweight and obesity, linking predatory marketing to the alarming rise in childhood obesity, it said.
The number of obese children and adolescents increased from 11 million in 1975 to 124 million in 2016 – an 11-fold increase, with dire individual and societal costs, the report said.
To protect children, the authors call for a new global movement driven by and for children.
Specific recommendations include stopping CO2 emissions with the utmost urgency, to ensure children have a future on this planet; placing children and adolescents at the centre of global efforts to achieve sustainable development, the report said.
New policies and investment in all sectors to work towards child health and rights; incorporating children's voices into policy decisions and tightening national regulation of harmful commercial marketing, supported by a new Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, it said.
Comments
SDPI CONTESTING THAT PLACES, THEY HAVE ALREADY SDPI STRENGTH, SDPI WILL GOT MLA SEATS.
Sdpi knows where to contest election and not to...This kind of torture is faced by minorities in every elections. Enough is enough we are tired of INC's fake promises. If you don't work for the welfare of the community you don't deserve to be elected.
No more threats on " if no Congress then BJP will come to power "
AWAAM KI JEET SDPI KI JEET
JAI SDPI
What is contribition for Minority past years. can u mention here.
every on know whom to vote.
Who are you "congress miniority cell" to ask this question?
what you contribution for miniroity since last 70 years?
answer is: Sachar Report that u gave us & Babri Masjid that u taken from us ( 2 important role muslims still suffering)
BJP is just for agenda for u,
We will support SDPI wherever we want
Its our choice now dont spoil Muslims name for your personal benefit
*"We are minorities, we cannot have our own representative.. even other parties are right in not fielding a candidate from minorities as the possibility of winning is very weak. So, why to waste a vote. Better to go with so called secular parties as before"*
These words often we hear here & there, every now & then. Such kind of opinion among our friends, family really pushes our morale down. We celebrated like as if we won, when the person we voted won. But everyone of us should ask ourselves *have we really won ?* We voted a party for years & years & *has the position of our community changed ??*
Leave aside the development & welfare promises, most important question is *are we secure in our own land ??*. Some people do ask *Why only SDPI ?* *Why can't we support a Muslim candidate from other parties ?* Yes we can support if he really does fight for welfare of the community. But we all have seen, we voted many times & sent them to speak for us. But our problems fell on their deaf ears & they became dumb when they really had to speak.So we don't have any expectation from them.Its time to know that we need one among us to represent us.So, that *our voice reach assembly & make a noise there*. it should alarm & awaken others who have been sleeping for years .Truth is that even a member can make other 100 tight lipped secular members open their mouth.One question will open door for 100 answers..Until somebody is there to cry & fight for us, we are not going to get anything. Remember the saying *crying baby only gets the milk*.
If one carefully analyse through the last assembly elections Muslim candidate have lost Muslims in Muslim dominated constituency. In many cases winning margin is thin as many independent Muslim candidates cutting through the votes. This may be the strategy of the BJP in coming assembly elections as well. Other factors are small regional parties lise SDPI which directly responsible for Congress to lose in Mysore Lok Sabha elections. MIM has cost nearly two dozen seat in UP is the worrying fact.
Congress is shedding tears now after losing 15 seats in Gujarat with a small margin. Had they spared couple of seats for BSP and NCP they would have easily won 13 seats ...‘As you sow, so shall you reap’.
Wake up INC & start discussing & shares the seats with growing , popular & true secular,agitative & politcal party SDPI or else it will be too late...
One SDPI MLA enter in ASSEMBLY will open mouth of all minority MLA , this time must go one MLA FROM SDPI,
Never ever one and only SDPI
Congress itself is the reason for failure in Gujarat, they didn't join hands or not ready to talk with BSP or NCP. while checking recent statements of ING party, it also going favor to soft Hindutva, instead of this let them join hands with SDPI to fight against saffronization or else they will pay for it as they did in Gujarat.
my opinion SDPI will win 2 to 4 seats with any party support in Karnataka this time, more than 40+ places chances of coming in the second place ... congress should make their strategy now and move on.. best of luck Cong+SDPI.
This is congress strategy till date, minorities especially muslims are well aware of all these tactis. Never they work hard or do anything for minorites rather they just show BJP as a devil and gain votes. Vote for all these secular parties with a clever startegy where they can be made victories. We can see that bjp is out of power and also see that along with congress 4-6 MLA from these parties enter assembly and make the changes.
On one hand Rahul Gandhi is instructing Karnataka Congress govt to stop so called "Minority Appeasement" and on other hand the Minority wing of Karnataka Congress is begging Muslims to stay away from Sdpi and MIM. This shows us Congress is not yet decided its stand on Muslims in coming MLA Election. Whereas SDPI has its stand very clear about contesting the elections with positive Political views. We will support SDPi wherever they contest for election. Whereas we ask Congress to alliance with SDPI in order to save BJP from coming into throne. Sdpi and Congress should be together to defeat BJP. Hence Congress should offer SDPI some of its seat. That will be clever move from Congress.
There is nothing new in KPCC Minority Wing's view, this is what Congress has been telling for almost 7 Decades. Why only SDPI & MIIM, why not JDS and other secular smaller parties, they too cause division of Muslim and secular votes. JDS has got many infulential Muslim figures such as Farook Bhai, Rauf Puttige and many from Coastal belt, then countless Muslim leaders from other parts of Karnataka. Are they not dividing Muslim votes.
I agree with Minority wing - hold discussion not only with SDPI & MIIM but other small progressive parties, thinkers such as Dwaraknathji, Bhaskar and about 15 such people who are decided to contest election this time, Congress should support them, not to field candidates against them. Let some more JIGNESH's come out from Karnataka, let us here different voice of revolutionary thinkers in the Assembly.
An Historical opportunity awaiting for Congress in Karnataka to silence Fascist forces. Dont blame or terrify Muslims, rather work strategically. The ball is in Congress Court!!!
To kick out all communal ; anti INDIA forces from our beloved NATION INDIA. All should unite and vote for the best secular party with ballots. Decline ; reject EVM system then only you can make impossible thinks to possible. Stand togehter and deman for BALLOT voting system then only you will aware who is for the country and who is not. At present there are big deal programs are going on behind screen with communal groups which INDIAN never experienced in the past. Now this is the right time and we the peace loving KARNATAK people to start. For the best government and ruling select qualified young energetic with good back ground. Don't support criminal and communal mind candidate.
We need our GREAT NATION to unite always and shine as number ONE in UNIVERS.
Jai Hind! Jai KArnataka !
They might have good ideologies. But people should recognize as a winning party.
otherwise no use. We dont have objection, if these New parites can win.
We know it will take many years to be strong enough to win in the election New parties
Better be smart, wise support to Congress, atleast much safer than BJP. otherwise you are answerable to your God for not using your brain.
May God bless.
Expression or Minority Wing of All India Congress Committee is quite correct, otherwise same Gujarat situation will prevail in Karnataka too. All Muslims should vote to a single party.
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