The Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP) will be joining hands with the Centre in implementing various child health activities aiming at bringing down the Infant Mortality Rate from the present 44 to 20 by 2020.
The country has already missed the Millennium Development Goals of 2015 and with the present pace of improving health care, the goals could perhaps be achievable by 2025-27, said Dr. S. Sachidananda Kamath, national president of the IAP.
“The task on hands is large and difficult but not impossible if expertise, policies and funds converge”, said Dr. Kamath.
According to the plan drawn up by the IAP that was submitted to President Pranab Mukherjee, each IAP branch in the country will adopt a village according to the capacity of the branch and will take leadership role in making model villages for child survival.
The project will be taken up in association with Members of Parliament in the region. The government has identified 183 high priority districts and 201 high focus districts for interventions. Malappuram and Wayanad are among the districts from Kerala for focus intervention for universal immunisation, said Dr. Kamath.
Since there is no single solution to ensure child survival, a holistic approach that focuses on education, clean water, sanitation, food security, health care and community participation will be evolved.
The thrust of the project is to look for local solutions and build on community’s practices to deal with problems in child’s survival. Hence the project has been named Gaaon ki baat, IAP ke Saath, Dr. Kamath said.
The key thrust areas that IAP is going to focus towards implementing the project are universal immunisation, newborn survival and health, child survival and health, nutrition aiming to address malnutrition and anaemia, adolescent health, HIV/AIDS, childhood tuberculosis, environment health, quality facilities in hospitals and quality services rendered.
The government has identified 183 high priority districts and 201 high focus districts for interventions.
