Zee Media Bureau/Udita Madan
New Delhi: Speaking at the inauguration of the Global Call to Action Summit 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that, “This is a landmark occasion and for the first time this summit is being held outside USA.”
The summit that is being co-hosted by WHO, Unicef, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Tata Trusts will act as a foundation to decide strategies related to ending preventable child and maternal deaths.
“This summit will provide an effective platform to address common challenges that'll help us achieve desired goals”, said Modi.
He further said that, “From being a country which accounted for more than half of global Polio cases in 2009 to being declared of the wild polio virus, the journey reflects India's deep commitment to child health”.
The 24 countries, which include the US and Ethiopia, were the "priority" countries as child and maternal deaths there amount to two-thirds of the global total.
Another major milestone achieved by India, according to Modi, is that India has eliminated maternal and neonatal tetanus and that India has achieved a historic accomplishment by becoming the victory power over polio.
Through the summit, Modi said that he wants to ensure that no child in India dies of vaccine preventable disease.
Child and maternal health has been a growing concern for India and India has always partnered with the global efforts on these issues.
(With agency inputs)
