By IANS,
New Delhi : Young MPs eager to raise social issues but struggling to grasp voluminous reports and jargon can expect help from a parliamentary forum eager to raise their awareness.
The Parliamentarians Group on Millennium Development Goals, as the forum is named, has prepared easy-to-read booklets on a variety of social issues ranging from hunger and poverty to environment and education.
Headed by Supriya Sule, a first-time MP, the forum is eager to educate MPs, many of who are socially conscious but do not have the time to study and understand issues of their and their constituents’ concern.
The kit provided to the MPs helps them come to grips with the seriousness of the issues, official policies related to them, and what can be done to help resolve various problems.
The kits have been put together with help from NGOs and organisations such as the Centre for Legislative Research and Advocacy (CLRA), Oxfam India, CARE and Population Services International.
One kit focusses on maternal death and disability in India.
Prepared by CLRA, it reveals that 60,000-70,000 maternal deaths occur in India every year and points out some of the gaps in the maternal health programme.
It suggests that the right to health be made justifiable by law.
Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Dinesh Trivedi, who was present at the launch of the kit here late Wednesday, said: “Unless there is right to health, unless a child is fit enough to go to school, what good will right to education alone do? How can he go to school and what will he retain if he is unhealthy and can’t access health services?”
One booklet is on climate change.
After outlining the impact of the phenomenon, the booklet suggests that MPs review government budgets on climate change issues. It suggests that MPs join relevant forums that aim to mainstream climate change issues.
In 2000, 189 heads of states met at the UN Millennium Summit and signed the Millennium Declaration.
The declaration covered eradication of hunger and poverty, achieving universal education, promoting gender equality, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, ensuring environment sustainability and developing a global partnership for development.
The kit says that the proposed HIV/AIDS bill, pending since 2006, should be passed and special provisions be made to allocate a part of the health budget to women.
It proposes that the Right to Education Bill, passed by the Rajya Sabha, should be amended to include children up to the age of 18. It proposes free and compulsory education to children in the age group of six to 14.