Statement by India at the 142nd Session of the Executive Board (EB) of the World Health Organization (22nd to 27th January 2018) on Agenda item 4.3: Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health (2016 – 30): early childhood development, delivered by Sh. Devesh Deval, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. [WHO HQ, Geneva, 25th January 2018]

Thank You Chair,

India thanks WHO Secretariat for presenting the report on this agenda item.

2. Ensuring health and well-being of women, children and adolescents; providing them with an enabling, transformative environment is a priority issue for India. National Health Policy gives special emphasis to the health challenges and long term potential of investing in their health.

3. India will be hosting the Partners’ Forum in New Delhi in December, 2018 along with PMNCH and we expect this exchange platform to successfully enable the partner organizations and countries in utilizing the evidence and knowledge and work towards the attainment of common goals envisioned in the SDGs.

4. With regard to measurement and definition of skilled health personnel attending births, India recognizes that standardization and refinement of definitions and skill-sets is a continuous and ongoing process.

5. India would like to caution against setting very ambitious goals which may jeopardize the planning process in many countries, knowing that availability, skilling and retention of quality human resources is posing great challenges to countries.

6. Member states should be able to decide on the basic minimum competencies of the health-care providers, taking the local context and challenges into consideration.

Thank you