Britain to help India curb child mortality

INDIA: Britain on Wednesday said that it would donate 490 million dollars for health services aimed at saving the lives of children and mothers in India.

India accounts for nearly 20 percent of the world’s preventable child deaths, experts say, with an estimated more than two million children dying annually from curable diseases and malnutrition.

“India has gained a reputation as a major economic superpower. But we should not forget that one in three Indians survive on less than 50 pence (one dollar) a day,” the British minister for international development, Gareth Thomas, said in a statement released here.

“Only one in four children from India’s poorest families are immunised against killer diseases compared to three in four from the richest,” Thomas said. The donation will be used to make healthcare available for marginalised groups of formerly low-caste people, tribals and religious minorities, the statement said.

Funds will also be used for educating groups such as commercial sex workers and drug users, who face a high risk of contracting HIV. Most of the aid will be given to the states of Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa, the statement said.

New Delhi, Thursday, AFP