21 August :Smt. Renuka Chowdhury, Minister for Women and Child Development

 launched a country action plan for the welfare of children here today. A joint plan of Government of India and UNICEF will be implemented over a period of five years, 2008-2012. The programme aims to reduce infant mortality rate and maternal mortality rate significantly within five years and improve other indices related with development of children.

Launching the programme here today, the Minister for Women and Child Development, Smt. Chowdhury said that the Government is committed to protect the rights of children, strive for the elimination of child labour and ensure facilities for schooling and extend special care to the girl child. The total outlay for the Ministry of Women and Child Development has been increased by 60% from 2006-07 to 2008-09. But, there is a need of convergence approach to tackle the various needs and concerns of children as their varied requirement cannot be met by any one single agency. Beside this, consciousness of society needs to be more positive and sensitive towards children’s needs, she stressed.

Giving the highlights of the action plan, the country representative of UNICEF, Ms. Marin Kulshof said that UNICEF would spend about $700 million over these five years in India under the programme. The focus will be in the seven States, namely, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh to accelerate progress in child survival and development.

The action plan launched today also focuses on improving the nutrition status of the mother and child, availability of clean and safe water, protection of children from violence, exploitation and child labour. The programme will also ensure more children enroll and stay in school to complete elementary education. The advocacy and partnership will be an important component of the action plan to build a voice for children and their rights through civil society.

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