AT the time of independence, India faced the twin problems of acute and chronic undernutrition of its children. This was essentially a result of low dietary intake because of poverty and low purchasing power, high prevalence of infection because of poor access to safe drinking water, sanitation and health care and poor utilization of available facilities due to low literacy and lack of awareness.

The commitment to provide free and compulsory education for all children up to fourteen years of age is enshrined in the Indian Constitution. Though successive national plans have recorded significant improvements, the final goal of providing quality education for all even after fifty years of planned development still eludes the country.

India's children continue to face a huge backlog of deprivations. For instance, India in 2005 reported an IMR of 58 deaths per 1000 live births. In contrast, China reported in 2005 an IMR of 23 and Bangladesh of 54. Neonatal deaths that account for 65% of infant mortality remain exceptionally high. In 2005-06, some 46% of children under three years were moderately or severely underweight

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This report examines the progress that has been made to improving America’s ability to respond to health threats and help identify ongoing areas of vulnerability.

Scientists around the globe have been warning about the risk of a potential pandemic influenza outbreak. Pandemic flu is caused by a new, severe strain of the flu virus capable of producing severe disease and spreading rapidly person-to-person worldwide. Unlike the seasonal flu, a pandemic flu virus poses a novel threat since humans would have no previously developed immunity against this new virus strain, putting most people at high risk for infection. This could result in a large percentage of the world’s population being infected by a rapidly spreading virus in a very short period of time.

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