(a) whether USA has agreed to provide assistance for expectant mothers and newly born children in India;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) the details of assistance to be provided to each State therefrom, State/ UT-wise; and
(d) the extent and manner in which the said American assistance is likely to help in reducing the death rate amongst expectant mothers and newly borns in the country?
THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SHRI JAGAT PRAKASH NADDA)
(a): Yes.
(b): USA has agreed to provide assistance for strengthening health systems to address health needs of vulnerable popu- lations, to achieve a broad set of intermediate results which contribute to the GOI’s national health programs, but not limited to the Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) programme and the National AIDS Control Programme. One of the components of the agreement is to provide assistance for expectant mothers and newly born children in India.
A Health Partnership Programme Agreement was signed between Government of India and USAID on 30th September, 2010 which will be implemented till 30th September, 2018. United States Agency for International Development (USAID) provides technical assistance to Government of India’s flagship health programmes to achieve population stabilization, integrate health services and nutrition to improve maternal newborn and child health including HIV/AIDS, Polio and TB. The total commitment is USD $256.67 million.
(c): Government of India has designated USAID as a lead development partner for its Call to Action for Child Survival and Development Programme for 30 high Priority Districts spread across the six states of Jharkhand, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Uttarakhand.
(d): One of the major objectives of the assistance is to strengthen health systems for RCH programme, whose main goals are to reduce MMR, IMR and TFR.