Eleventh Five Year Plan

194 Eleventh Five Year PlanPlan recognizes the gender dimension of health problemsand seeks to address issues of women’s survivaland health through a life cycle approach. Making ordinarywomen partners in their own health care is anunderpinning of Women’s Health in the Eleventh Plan.6.46 The Eleventh Plan agenda is to move beyond thetraditional focus on family planning and reproductivehealth, to adopt a holistic perspective on women’shealth. For this, allocation towards health is beingstepped up. Details of the Eleventh Plan roadmap forwomen are available in Chapter 3.6.47 The high rates of MMR and IMR, poor prenataland postnatal care, combined with the low proportionof institutional deliveries is a grave cause of concern.Empowering adolescent girls through informationabout health, sexuality, and increased awareness tonegotiate rights with families, future partners, and inthe workplace is equally important. The challenge isto create an enabling environment with information,services, and health programmes for women to exercisetheir rights and choices. The Eleventh Plancommitment to reduce MMR and IMR is detailed inChapter 3.6.48 The effect on women of HIV/AIDS is a criticalarea. There is an increase of mother to child transmissionof HIV and paediatric HIV cases. The EleventhPlan will commit resources to move towards a multisectoral,decentralized, gender-sensitive, communitybasedhealth service of which HIV/AIDS preventionand treatment is an integral part. It will prioritizeinformation dissemination on a mass scale for preventionand treatment of HIV/AIDS. Resources will haveto be made available to address the socio-economicproblems faced by HIV positive women, includingaccess to ARV treatment, medical services, child care,and livelihood security. Enacting legislation that protectsHIV-positive women against discrimination ineducation, livelihood opportunities, workplace,medical treatment, and community will be the genderequity agenda for the Eleventh Plan.6.49 Many other factors affect the health of women.For instance women’s risk of mortality from indoorair pollution resulting from use of unprocessed fuelsis estimated to be 50% higher than of men. While overtime, community investment in low cost clean fuel suchas biogas will be encouraged, in the interim, firewoodneeds to be made available. Provision of clean drinkingwater and sanitation facilities are also importantfor good health. Intersectoral convergence to ensurethe health and well being of women in this regard is amajor challenge before the Eleventh Plan.Curbing Increasing Violenceagainst Women (VAW)6.50 During the Eleventh plan period, the justice deliverymechanism as well as the legislative environmentunder the PWDVA 2005 will be strengthened. VAWwill be articulated as a Public Health issue and trainingwill be provided to medical personnel at all levelsfrom public health facilities (PHCs) to premier healthfacilities. It will be included in medical educationbecause the medical and health establishments areoften the first point of contact for women in a crisissituation. Training and sensitization of health personnelwill include recognizing and dealing with injuriesresulting from VAW and providing psychologicalsupport. Multiple forms of sexual VAW in conflictzones and in communal or sectarian violence, wherethey are specifically targeted as embodiments ofcommunity honour are cause for great concern. Inthe Eleventh Plan period, a National Task Force onVAW in Zones of Conflict will be set up under theNational Commission for Women (NCW) with adequatebudgetary allocations to make it effective inmonitoring VAW in conflict zones and facilitatingrelief and access to justice for affected women.MENTAL HEALTH6.51 Mental health has long been a neglected and invisiblearea. NFHS-3 shows disturbing evidence thatwomen have internalized domestic violence leading tointense mental illness. The chapter on Health detailsthe Eleventh Plan direction in this regard.Education6.52 The challenge in the Eleventh Plan is to retaingirls in school and to bridge gender disparities in educationalaccess, specifically for SC, ST, and Muslimcommunities through allocation of greater resources