The States of India Report highlighted several important dimensions of India’s journey to attain the MDGs by 2015. It highlighted that though India is nearly on track in reducing poverty at the national level to half of the proportion of people under national poverty line, as existed in 1990, by 2015, as many as 14 of the 35 States/UTs will fall short of their individual MDG-targets.

Portland, Jan 26, 2012: GladRags announced their partnership with Empower Women in Africa with a combined goal to bring educational and economic opportunities to girls and women in rural Africa.

GladRags, founded in Portland, OR in 1992, was conceived from the inspiration of the simple utility, earth-friendliness, and comfort of cloth diapers. GladRags quickly grew, and today remains a small company with a big presence, committed to promoting positive attitudes toward menstruation and making the environment a safer, cleaner place.

A key priority for women and girls is to have necessary knowledge, facilities, and cultural environment to manage menstruation hygienically and with dignity. To address these issues BRAC-WASH along with financial support from school authorities is constructing separate sanitary latrines for girls with menstrual hygiene facilities in secondary schools. For better management and maintenance of the provided facilities, ‘Student brigades’ and ‘School WASH Committees’ are formed in each school.

Seventy-seven schools run by the Pune Municipal Corporation do not have sanitation facilities in tune with the norms set by the Union ministry of rural development's department of drinking water supply, a Right to Information Act (RTI) application by P M Shah Foundation has found.

Lack of proper sanitation facilities was one of the reasons girls dropped out of school.

New Delhi, Dec 23, 2011: The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will soon launch a Weekly Iron and Folic Supplementation (WIFS) programme. The programme, implemented across the country both (rural and urban areas) will cover nearly 12 Crore adolescents. The Ministry has suggested to the States that a fixed day in a week, preferably a Monday, be earmarked as the day when Iron and Folic Acid tablet is provided to adolescents. Funding for implementation of the scheme to the States would be provided under the National Rural Health Mission.

Uttar Pradesh, Dec 19, 2011: Budaun is one of the larger districts of Western Uttar Pradesh. While it figures on the polio map of the world, it also has a remarkable tale to narrate. This district is fast converting all the dry latrines into the 'pour-and-flush' toilets, so that poor hygienic behaviours can be changed. UNICEF supported Polio Social Mobilization Network (SmNet) played key role by visiting families and explaining them health risks due to open defecation and dry latrines. Read More

New Delhi, Dec 20, 2011: Sharing members'' concern over the plight of manual scavangers, government today told the Lok Sabha that a survey would be launched soon to ascertain the actual number of such people so that they could get benefits earmarked for them.
Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Mukul Wasnik said the Centre had already asked the states to give details about the manual scavengers.

The Ghana Education Service (GES), under its School Health Education Programme (SHEP), has launched a call to action in the provision of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services in basic and second cycle schools across Ghana, dubbed WinS.

Launching the call at a workshop in Accra December 13, 2011, on behalf of the management of GES, Mr. Samuel Manteaw, Director, Human Resource, GES, said “The factors related to water, sanitation and hygiene in schools affect children’s right to education in many ways.”

New Delhi, Dec 15, 2011: The Ministry of Women & Child Development has sanctioned of 13,66,776 AWCs/ mini-AWCs to the States/ UTs of which 12,88,463 AWCs/ mini-AWCs are operational as on 30.09.2011. As per the information available, there are 73,375 honorary posts of Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) and 16,251 post of Supervisors lying vacant as on 30.09.2011. The reasons for these unfilled positions/ posts are largely due to Administrative, procedural and legal delays in the State Government/ UT Administration.

New Delhi, Dec 15, 2011: Government has ruled out increase in the number of working days under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) from the existing 100 days to 200 days, saying such a move will result in a competitive disadvantage towards agricultural productivity. Indian Labour Conference in its 43rd session recommended to increase the number of working days along with the guaranteed statutory wage under MGNREGA.