Gandhinagar: Gujarat has secured the top position among all states of India for the second consecutive year in the ‘Good Health and Well-being’ category, according to the SDG India Index 2023-24 report released by NITI Aayog.

The SDG India Index 2023-24, which is the fourth edition of the country’s primary tool for tracking progress on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), was released last month. The Index calculates goal-specific scores on the 16 SDGs for each state and Union Territory.

The SDGs are part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations member states in 2015.

“It is a matter of great joy and pride for Gujarat that in the Sustainable Development Goals Index announced by NITI Aayog, Gujarat has ranked first in the country for the second time in a row in the field of health facilities and well-being. The state has achieved this due to a major reduction in maternal and child mortality, increased institutional deliveries, and a significant rise in complete immunization of children,” Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said in a post on X.

“Additionally, the state has excelled in controlling infectious diseases like TB, greatly reducing the prevalence of HIV-AIDS, and increasing medical and paramedical manpower,” he added.

ગુજરાત માટે ઘણાં આનંદ અને ગૌરવની વાત છે કે નીતિ આયોગ દ્વારા જાહેર કરવામાં આવેલા Sustainable Development Goals ઈન્ડેક્સમાં આરોગ્ય સુવિધા સુખાકારી ક્ષેત્રે ગુજરાત સતત બીજી વાર દેશમાં પ્રથમ ક્રમે રહ્યું છે.

રાજ્યને આ સિદ્ધિ માતા અને બાળ મૃત્યુદરમાં મોટો ઘટાડો, સંસ્થાકીય પ્રસુતિ… pic.twitter.com/9KBkk06dRj

— Bhupendra Patel (@Bhupendrapbjp) August 6, 2024

In 2018, when the first SDG Index Report was published by NITI Aayog, Gujarat’s score for the health goal was 52. It has now reached 90, far surpassing the national average score of 77. Gujarat and Delhi are the top performers among the States and the UTs, respectively

The criteria for determining the health goal score included maternal mortality rate, infant mortality rate, child immunization, institutional delivery, registration of TB cases, HIV cases, life expectancy, road accident mortality, suicide rate, health workforce ratio, and out-of-pocket health expenditure.

As per the report average life expectancy in Gujarat is 70.5 years, compared to the national average of 70 years. The institutional birth rate in Gujarat is 99.94 percent, against the national average of 97.18 percent. The maternal mortality rate in Gujarat is 57, compared to the national average of 97. DeshGujarat