The Hindu : New Delhi News : “Wada Na Todo Campaign” by children tomorrow

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Nov 12, 2007
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New Delhi

New Delhi

“Wada Na Todo Campaign” by children tomorrow

Staff Reporter

To remind Finance Minister of his promise on education

A report on “Ensuring Universal Access to Health and Education in India” to be released
Children will submit 300,001 signatures to Planning Commission member Abhijit Sen

NEW DELHI: Several children will gather at the India Women’s Press Corps here on Tuesday as part of their “Wada Na Todo Abhiyan” to remind the Finance Minister of his promise of providing universal access to health and education as part of this year’s Union Budget.

The children will submit 300,001 signatures to Planning Commission member Abhijit Sen urging the authorities to invest 9 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product in health and education.

As part of the event, a report on “Ensuring Universal Access to Health and Education in India” by Vimla Ramachandran and Imrana Qadeer will be released. This report will be simultaneously released across 10 States – New Delhi, Orissa, Meghalaya, UP, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

The children, who have also met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other senior leaders as part of their campaign, will urge Finance Minister P. Chidambaram to fulfil the “Wada Na Todo Abhiyan”.

The “Wada Na Todo Abhiyan” is a national campaign pressurising the Government to keep the promises it made in its National Common Minimum Program and the Planning Commission’s National Development Goals.

This effort has been coordinated by over 3,000 organisations and networks across 23 states.

According to “Wada Na Todo Abhiyan” convenor Amitabh Behar, the previous Budget year had seen over 200,000 children across 12 States come together through the “Nine Is Mine” campaign and met Prime Minister Singh on February 1 this year.

Expenditure

“We believe that this effort has contributed to highlighting the need to prioritise public expenditure for health and education in policy dialogue as well as public debate. Both sectors saw a substantial increase in the last Union Budget though it was not enough to increase the allocation in per cent of GDP. The Prime Minister has continuously mentioned investments in the health and education sectors as a national priority in his speeches and writings, such as on the eve of the 60th anniversary of India’s Independence. The time has now come to fulfil these promises.”

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