Facing flak for holding back State-wise findings of UNICEF’s Rapid Survey on Children, the Women and Child Development Ministry has constituted a committee to examine the report following differences of opinion over the survey methodology.
“We held a meeting with the Ministries of Health and Statistics and decided to form a committee as there was difference of opinion on the State-level findings of the UNICEF survey. It is likely to submit its report within a week,” said an official from the Women and Child Development Ministry.
The committee, which is likely to submit its report within a week, includes officials from the Ministries of Health and Family Welfare, and Statistics and Programme Implementation.“The committee has been asked to reach a consensus on the UNICEF report, which has indicated a reduction in the immunisation cover of children, exposing children to health risks,” said the official.
In 2014, the WCD Ministry had released the national-level findings of the report and uploaded these on its website, while the State-level findings were put on hold.“The methodology followed by UNICEF in State surveys was not in accordance with the guidelines of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation and hence, was put on hold,” said the WCD official.
“The State-level results had certain variations in some respects but since the national-level findings were acceptable to all, those were released,” the official said.Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Ahmad Patel had written to WCD Minister Maneka Gandhi last week, demanding release of the full report in the “larger public interest” and raised questions over the Centre choosing not to make public the entire survey report.