The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : State to get DFID aid for healthcare

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jun 15, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

State to get DFID aid for healthcare

Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh will get an aid of Rs. 320 crore to access health services, as part of a Rs. 2000-crore funding to India from the Department for International Development (DFID), United Kingdom.

In a press release, Gareth Thomas, UK’s Minister for International Development said, “India has gained a reputation as a major economic superpower. But we should not forget that one in four children from the country’s poorest families are immunised against killer diseases, compared to three in four from the richest of the families”.

Aim

The new package is aimed at reducing the number of children that die before their fifth birthday. It will be run in Andhra Pradesh from 2007 to 2010. Statistics say that in the State, two per cent of women going to antenatal clinics live with HIV and AIDS - more than anywhere else in India. Childhood immunisation has fallen since 1998, from 59 to 46 per cent in 2005-06 and over 25 per cent of women give birth without qualified medical support.

High-risk

The DFID funds are to be used to ensure that when mothers give birth, a doctor or nurse is available to give them and their babies a better chance of survival. Groups with a high risk of contracting AIDS, like commercial sex workers and injecting drugs-users will benefit from funds for expanding education programmes that teach them how to protect themselves. It will also help improve healthcare for socially-excluded groups like Dalits and minorities.

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