US speaker shows less vibrant face of Gujarat

Briefly though,the less vibrant face of the other,neglected,Gujarat peeped through the hype and glitz of the VGGIS meet on Tuesday.

Quoting statistics from well known international studies and national field data to lay bare the other side of the government’s claim of pursuing a ‘model of inclusive development’,Kerry Pelzman,Director of Health and Education,United States Agency for International Development (USAID),Central Asia Region held up the stark contrasts in the claims of development vis-à-vis ground realities. She was speaking at a seminar on ‘Social Infrastructure and HDI —Inclusive Human development through Global Partnerships’ on the concluding day of the summit. The situation of Scheduled Tribes,she underlined,is “worse than in other states”. “In Gujarat,one in nine children dies even before their fifth birthday,” Pelzman said.