Bill Gates lauds India's Action plan to reduce newborn mortality rate by 2030
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New Delhi, Sep 19 (ANI): Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates praised India for the pioneering work in polio eradication and said the country's plan to achieve its target of reducing the newborn mortality rate to single digit before 2030 is possible. Bill Gates was accompanied by his wife Melinda Gates to attend the launch of health programme Indian Newborn Action Plan (INAP) in New Delhi, which was inaugurated by Health Minister Harsh Vardhan. In India the present death rate is 29 per 1,000 live births. Of the 2.8 million newborns who die at birth worldwide, India contributes 700,000. While speaking at the event, Bill said there are lessons to be learnt from India's fight against polio which may be applied against other diseases also. The World Health Organisation declared India free of the crippling polio virus in March, making the country's almost two-decade-long, multi-billion-dollar effort one of the biggest public health achievements in recent times.
