This submission was prepared jointly by the Centre for International Health and Development (CIHD) at University College London’s Institute of Child Health, Ekjut (India), Society for Nutrition, Education and Health Action (India) and Women and Children First (UK). The paper focuses on the urgent need to maintain commitment to and action for achieving Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5 in India, and the key role that the UK Department for International Development in India (DFIDI) should play to support the Government of India to meet these goals and improve the health and wellbeing of India’s women and children.
The following issues for the Inquiry are addressed: the positive impact of DFIDI’s current programme in India; DFIDI’s role as a catalyst for other donors; and the positive influence that DFIDI’s programme has on India’s national priorities and implementation. Specific recommendations for DFIDI are included, covering issues around the quality of health care; maternal, newborn and child health Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) and efficiency; health system strengthening; health sector governance and accountability; community mobilisation; equity; links with the other sectors e.g. education, gender, nutrition; and the need for monitoring and evaluation of DFIDI programmes. A full evaluation of DFIDI’s country programme is overdue and would be timely.
International Development Committee Inquiry into DFID’s Programme in India (2010)
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