The latest report of UNICEF paints a grim picture on the part of Uttar Pradesh. The report, considered as a wake-up call for the people of UP, highlights the alarming figures on maternal and neonatal mortality in the state.

The released State of World's Children report 2009 said, “UP is the riskiest state for a woman to have a baby in the country. In Uttar Pradesh, a woman has a 1 in 42 risk of maternal death, compared to the probability of just 1 in 500 for women in Kerala." This simply means that nearly one-third of all maternal deaths in the country are reported from UP.

While presenting the report, Adele Khudr, the chief of UNICEF, Uttar Pradesh said that UP and Uttaranchal reports over one third of all maternal deaths in the country. According to Khudr, limited access to reproductive health care, inadequate nutrition and lack of birth spacing are the main reasons for this problem.

Khudr still believes that with the launch of different health projects in the state, the situation might improve for women and children.

Besides this, the report also maintained that at the time of giving the birth, only 25 per cent of women in the state are aided by a skilled birth attendant. Majority of the women in the state do not get any sort of help from a nurse, doctor or midwife.

UP is also ranked in the top five neonatal mortality rates i.e. measuring deaths within the first 28 days of life. After Orissa and Madhya Pradesh, UP occupies third position with 46 children dying per 1000 live births.

It may be here recalled that, while addressing at the CSM Medical University's convocation recently, vice-president Mohammad Hameed Ansari had criticized the state for offering poor health services to its people.

As against the figure of 74 in Kerala, the life expectancy at birth is 56 years in UP.