|
A National Conference on Child Survival and Development will be hosted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on 29th and 30th November 2004 in New Delhi to deliberate scaling up of simple, inexpensive interventions that could make a breakthrough in reducing infant mortality in our country.
The National Conference is an expression of our Government’s serious resolve to curb child mortality by joining hands with the Global Partnership for Child Survival in a bid to address this issue with utmost urgency. Governments, academic institutions, technical and professional associations NGOs, foundations, bilateral development agencies, private sector organisations and UN agencies are part of this Global Child Survival Partnership in which our country has joined.
The Conference is a significant milestone in galvanising global and national commitment and action for accelerated reduction of child mortality worldwide, through universal coverage of essential, cost-effective child health interventions.
Though child deaths dropped rapidly in the past 25 years, progress everywhere, in our country, slowed down in the 1990s. Today, with an infant mortality of 63 per thousand live births we need to turn around the situation rapidly if the Xth Five Year Plan and the Millennium Development Goals have to be met.
The message of hope in this challenging scenario is that a vast majority of children can be saved through a combination of good care, nutrition, and medical treatment. Simple measures like exclusive breastfeeding for six months can prevent child deaths by a good 16%. It is believed that other easy measures could prevent 90% of diarrhea deaths, 62% of pneumonia deaths, 52% neonatal fatalities and 100% measles deaths through full access to immunisation. A substantial proportion of malaria and HIV/AIDS deaths can also be averted.
Proven strategies and interventions such as keeping the newborn baby sufficiently warm, neonatal resuscitation, micronutrient supplements such as vitamin A and zinc and antibiotics for sepsis, pneumonia and dysentery are expected to be discussed. Various impediments that still pose a challenge to such simple interventions will be identified and solutions explored.
The conference is particularly significant as India’s forthcoming Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) Programme Phase-II gets ready for launch next year intended to improve the health and living conditions of the poorest of villages across India.
The National Conference will see top level participation from the Health and Family Welfare Ministry and the Department of Women and Child Development. The Planning Commission and the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) will be represented at a senior level, emphasising the holistic and convergent approach now seen as critical to child survival.
There is also a high level delegation of the global child survival partners and international agencies, academic institutions, and child centered organizations from various countries including Kenya, France, Italy, the United States and Canada, amongst others.
|
