Five Rights of the Child: Prevention of Congenital Mental Disabilities 5.1 In its preceding report, the Commission had expressed grave concern over the serious developmental disabilities caused to children born in this country as a result of malnutrition and natemal anaemia affecting their mothers, particularly to those belonging to economically cisadvantaged sections of society. It viewed the circumstances of these children as constituting a serious violation of their right to a life with dignity, abridging as it did their capi-city to develop their full potential intellectually and physically. Indeed, scientific data indicates that maternal anaemia is a major contributor to infant and maternal mortaliry in India. Despite nearly three decades having elapsed since the start of the National Nutritional Anaemia Control Programme (NNACP), launched by the Government of India in 1972,87.6% of pregnant women in the country continue to suffer from anaemia. Tie Commission, for its part, has been particularly concerned about the wide prevalence if health problems, related to iron deficiency which has continued to result in the birti of children with mental disabilities. 5.2 Keeping in /iew the gravity of this problem, the Commission has constituted a Core Advisory Group on Health comprising Prof. V. Ramalingaswamy, Dr. Shanti Ghosh, Dr. Prema Ramachandran, Prof. Pravin Visaria, Prof. N. Kochupillai, Prof. K. Srinath Reddy and Prof. L.M. Naih to prepare a blueprint/plan ofaction for systemic improvements in the health ca-e system after discussions with other experts in the field. The Core Group, headed bv the Chairperson of the Commission, held a series of consultations with leading Medical Research Institutions. As a result of these consultations, the Commission scheduled a two-day Workshop on this matter on 26-27 April 2000, in association with UNICEF and th^ Department of Women & Child Development, Government of India. The broad purp )se of the workshop was to evolve legal and programmatic instruments to zero-in on this serious health problem, which has far-reaching human rights implications.