MOHFW’s National Summit on “Call to Action for Child Survival and Development” in Feb 2013

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) has announced the National Summit on “Call to Action for Child Survival and Development” which is scheduled to be held in Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu from February 7-9, 2013. Organised in partnership with UNICEF and USAID, the Summit is a expected to be a critical platform that will strategically engage over 200 delegates including, nearly 60 national and international experts, key policy makers, planners and implementers from the health sector representing all states of India, representatives and heads of UN and development agencies, global health experts and practitioners, civil society members and private sector, to discuss and debate on Child Survival and Development in India. The Summit also promises to offer an opportunity for sharing experiences and challenges; celebrate successes in maternal, newborn, child survival & development programmes; and pledge to meet India’s child survival and development goals.

India co-convened the ‘Global Child Survival Call to Action: A Promise to Keep’ Summit in Washington DC in June 2012, along with Ethiopia and the United States of America. The Call to Action: For Every Child in India is Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Ghulam Nabi Azad’s attempt to ensure that India remains in the forefront in the global war against child mortality and morbidity.

A roadmap, entitled a ‘Strategic Approach to Reproductive Maternal Newborn Child and Adolescent Health’ (RMNCH+A) will also be launched at the Summit along with other pertinent guidelines and documents, aimed at accelerating reductions in preventable child deaths through sharper national plans and improved monitoring and evaluation.

EH News Bureau