'Private Sector Must Help Meet India's Health Goals'

USAID has also announced a new effort to support diarrhea management, one of the leading causes of child deaths in India. Out of the total funding of $4.7 million, the partnership is leveraging $2.4 million from the private sector.

India is now looking beyond the UN Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of reducing child mortality rate (CMR) to 38 per thousand. The target in the 12th Five Year Plan is to reduce it to 33 per thousand by 2017.

USAID provides funding and other assistance for several programmes in the fields of health, education and food security. Health programmes, especially on maternal and child healthcare, are in the agency's focus.

The agency recently extended two flagship projects on child survival - the Maternal and Child Health Integrated Project (MCHIP) and the Health of Urban Poor Project (HUPP).

The first, with funding of $16.4 million, will support the Indian government in establishing quick response teams, which in turn will help the states on the cusp of accelerating their efforts for child survival. The HUPP programme will continue to support the Indian government in implementing its various urban health initiatives.

Talking about India's role in the South Asian region, Biswal said changes in the country can make a huge difference in the region, as well as globally.

"India has a very important role to play in the region. Because of the scale, it is hard to address challenges in India. The lessons learnt here are applicable at other places as well. Just that India has decided to change something in itself makes an impact," she said.

"The changes in India will have an impact in the region and globally."

Talking about USAID's plans for future, Biswal said though the focus at present was on health, this would diversify in future.

"Presently 70 percent of our funds go for healthcare. In the course of time, you will see diversity in the partnership," she added.