Harsh Vardhan chairs event to mark National Newborn Week 2020

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Friday chaired an event to mark National Newborn Week 2020, being observed from November 15-21 to "reinforce the importance of newborn health as a key priority area of health sector and to reiterate commitment at the highest level".

The minister said that India has taken giant strides to achieve targets set for reducing the newborn mortality rate and stillbirth rate.

"India became the first country to launch the India Newborn Action Plan (INAP) in 2014, in alignment with the Global Every Newborn Action Plan towards eliminating preventable deaths of newborns and stillbirths. Initiatives like Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan (SUMAN) scheme are testimony to our commitment to avoid all preventable maternal or pregnancy-related deaths as well as that of the newborns. We are working meticulously to update our practices and plug any gaps in the system to improve our performance," he said.

"Health has been my passion for decades. The government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is even more passionate about ensuring 'Health For All'. We endeavour to achieve various Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to health well ahead of global targets and establish a healthy new India by 2022," he added.

The theme of National Newborn Week this year is "Quality, Equity, Dignity for every newborn at every health facility and everywhere".

( With inputs from ANI )