India to get $24.3m to fight infant mortality

Bill Gates will be in Delhi to attend the international conference of Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunisation which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on December 7.

Bill and Melinda Gate Foundation is the largest private health foundation providing funds to India. It had recently announced a grant of $200 million for fighting HIV/AIDS in the country.

The funds have been earmarked for ‘‘Sure Start’’ initiative which will support 17 newborn and maternal health projects in Uttar Pradesh and Maharastra. The aim is to reach six lakh newborns and an equal number of mothers in the two states over the next five years. Uttar Pradesh has one of the highest infant mortality figures in India—80 per 1,000 childbirths. Orissa is at the bottom of the list at 87 per 1,000 while Maharastra is slightly better off with an infant mortality rate of 45.

The initiative was announced with another project for child and maternal health in 18 developing countries. While 18 countries get to share $60 million dollars, a separate initiative has been announced for India. According to the foundation, Sure Start will help ‘‘grassroots organisations to significantly ramp-up their newborn and maternal health even in the poorest of the communities.’’

The project would focus on.

• Increasing access to birth attendants, either through home visits or by enabling women to give birth in medical facilities.

• Increasing institutional deliveries.

• Building networks of community health workers to assist birth attendants and visit mothers in the first few days after birth to educate them on home-based newborn care and to recognise conditions that require care at a clinic or a hospital.

• Developing community savings programme like group insurance or income pools to help cover cost of emergency newborn care.

• Developing links among communities so they can share lessons.