World Health Day quietly slipped away on Tuesday with no formal programme being organised by the state Health department. Officials attributed the memory loss to the fact that it coincided with a gazetted holiday. Health services across the state have never been robust. With every passing year, it has further degraded. Even vice-president Hamid Ansari had a dig at the health scenario during the convocation programme at CSM Medical University (CSMMU) in 2008 with the terse remark: "Your age is governed by the state in which you are born. You will live longer if you are in Kerela compared to Uttar Pradesh." The National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3) presented a shoddy picture of health services, particularly for young women and girls, across UP. As per the survey, median age of marriage is 16.2 years among women in the state. More than half (59%) of women get married before attaining the legal age of 18 years, the survey reported. Ironically, 14 per cent of women in the age group of 15-19 year start bearing child which is lower than the national average of 16 per cent, it pointed out. According to the survey, the living condition of the people in the state is also no better. Only 29 per cent of people are living in pucca houses, while 67 per cent of the houses have no toilets. In the rural area, the situation is grim with 84 per cent houses lacking toilets. To top it all, only nine per cent of the households in the state have water pipeline and only five per cent treat drinking water to make it potable, the survey said. Social activist and former IPS officer SR Darapuri remarked: "Right to health is not benefiting the majority of UP residents. Providing quality health care to all is a non-negotiable responsibility of the government." Darapuri, who is contesting the Lucknow Lok Sabha elections on Lok Rajniti Manch (LRM) ticket, said: "It is not surprising that maternal mortality rate and infant mortality rate are highest in UP."