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$130M boost for India's children

NEW YORK 13 March 2006 - U.K. International Development Minister, Gareth Thomas, today announced USD $130 million (£75 million) in funding for an expanded DFID and UNICEF Strategic Partnership for India, to accelerate the progress to Millennium Development Goals.

The new partnership will support UNICEF’s work in India focusing on some of the poorest states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, to improve delivery of primary healthcare and education. The partnership will complement the national and state governments’ increased commitment to transforming the lives of children with a focus on reaching the most socially excluded.

At a public signing in UNICEF House with UNICEF deputy executive director Toshiyuki Niwa, Gareth Thomas said, “The funding will give a significant boost to health and education programmes for the most vulnerable and socially excluded Indian children.  He continued:
"It will bring vital support to people who need it the most, and help lay down long term foundations to improve the quality of people’s lives today and over the next generation. Building on a key partnership with UNICEF, and as a complement to the UN reform process, this will help turn Government commitment into action on the ground. It will help us in our shared aim to reduce poverty by 2015 through the Millennium Development Goals.”

It will also give further opportunity for UN agencies to enhance co-ordination, efficiency and effectiveness at the country level by
expanding common services, reducing collective costs and increasing knowledge sharing.

“This funding provides the means to form an even stronger partnership between UNICEF, the government of India and DFID to create breakthrough interventions to tackle malnutrition, child survival, education and HIV/AIDs,” said Mr. Niwa of UNICEF.

For example, UNICEF will accelerate interventions such as the Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illness (IMNCI) that aims to vastly improve child survival rates in India. Through a programme of home visits by trained professionals from the moment of birth, IMNCI will ensure babies are being given proper care and any problems are both identified and treated. Proven methods to reduce infant death rates include families being taught to keep babies "sweet" by exclusive breastfeeding, "dry" not giving baths and "warm" using the kangaroo method of holding babies directlyagainst the mother or father.

With more than 1000 children under 5 years old dying every day due to diarrhoeal disease water and sanitation is a major concern. The Indian Government’s Total Sanitation Campaign, aims to give every family access to water, toilets and handwashing facilities. UNICEF with partners has pioneered low cost toilets that are simple, affordable and appropriate and Rural Sanitary Markets as local access points for these services. Support from DFID will help expand this initiative.

Since the early 1990s India has lifted 12 million people out of poverty every year, and since 1999 DFID has spent £1.13 billion towards assistance. But with a sixth of the world population and increasing economic success, the nature of DFID’s relationship and the assistance it provides is changing in a way to reflect India’s standing as a self-reliant international player.

The announcement follows on from the successful Asia 2015 conference held in London last week (6-7 March) which brought together political leaders, private sector, senior officials, NGO representatives and academics from across Asia and focused on showcasing regional successes, sharing lessons and looking to the future.

Notes for editors

1.    The new programme will, in line with DFID’s current country assistance plan, aim to build on the good progress to increase the number of children attending school and also improve the quality of education. Access to effective and affordable healthcare services, especially for children, is a way to tackle both a long term symptom and cause of poverty. To find out more about DFID’s work in India go to www.dfid.gov.uk/countries/asia/india.asp and http://www.dfidindia.org/

2.    The Government of India has been closely involved in shaping the Partnership, which is consistent with its overall programme goal of
co-operation with UNICEF. The Government, UNICEF and DFID are all working towards the constitutionally guaranteed rights of all women and children, and the creation of an enabling environment to promote equality and strengthen accountability towards children.

3.    UNICEF has been working in India since 1949. The largest UN organisation in the country, it is currently implementing a $500 million
programme from 2003-2007. The organisation uses quality research and data to understand issues, implements new and innovative interventions and works with Government to transform the lives of each and every child.  To find out more about UNICEF’s work in India please visit: http://www.unicef.org/india/

4.    For 60 years UNICEF has been the world’s leader for children, working on the ground in 155 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence.  The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS.  UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

5.    Each year, UNICEF’s flagship publication, The State of the World's Children, closely examines a key issue affecting children. The upcoming State of the World’s Children 2007 will argue that one of the most powerful constraints to realizing children’s rights and achieving the Millennium Development Goals is the discrimination experienced by women.  By investigating the relationship between the situation of women and the well-being of children throughout the life-cycle, the Report will reveal that there is a form of double discrimination at work: societies that discriminate against women are also implicitly discriminating against children.

Broadcast quality tape will be available at:  www.thenewsmarket.com/unicef

For further information, please contact:

Kate Donovan, UNICEF Media,
tel: 212 326 7452, e-mail: [email-masked]

Nic Fearon-Low, Senior Press Officer,
Department for International Development,
tel: 0044 20 7023 0533 e-mail: [email-masked]

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14 March 2006:
Gareth Thomas, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the UK Department for International Development, says the $130 million contribution will help UNICEF's work in two of the poorest states in India.

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14 March 2006:
Karin Hulshof, Director of UNICEF Programme Funding Office, talks about the impact the $130 million could have on children; and the long standing partnership between UNICEF and the UK DFID.

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