News hook: 15 August India's 63rd Independence Day

New Delhi, 13 August: As India celebrates its 63nd year as a free nation, Save the Children reminds the nation not to forget the children who died and calls on Government to do more. India made commitments to reduce infant mortality by 2/3 by 2015 but we are lagging dangerously behind delivering on the promises.

Two million children die every year in India which is 20 per cent of the global 9.2 million. Half of them die in the first 28 days of birth. The majority of these die of diseases we know how to stop - diarrhoea, pneumonia, malaria, measles and pre and post natal complications. Over half of these deaths could be avoided if children were better nourished, a large segment of which could be reduced if anaemia in women was tackled and immediate and exclusive breastfeeding was ensured.

"While the economy has made commendable progress over the last decades, all is not well for millions of India's poor children. It is time to reflect on what's going wrong. The growth should be inclusive and plans and schemes must reach the poorest and most excluded districts. There is no time to waste," said Shireen Vakil Miller, Save the Children's director of advocacy, campaigns and communication.

Save the Children's warning comes on top of three reports in the last week: 1. Report by WHO that ranks India 171 out of the 175 countries in the world in public health spending with the government spending less than 1 per cent of the GDP on health. 2. Recent news report that shows negative growth for all major health indicators. 3. Dreads of droughts looming in India situation may turn more alarming.

"Thanks to investment by the government in their National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) we have mechanism and means. It is time to stop talking and start acting, ensuring that growth is truly inclusive as envisioned in the 11th plan. Access to even the very basic primary health care still remains a distant dream for millions of mothers and children who remain the underbelly of India's burgeoning growth," added Miller.

The deaths are not mere statistics but personal loss for many families. Rukhsana from Rajasthan lost two children to pneumonia. They could have been saved. Why did they die?

"Where is the money to see a doctor, when there is hardly enough to eat," Rukhsana said.

It is not just Ruskhsana's story, but of millions of poor mothers who go through the pain and loss and millions of children who continue to die in a prospering India.

"Saving a child's life should be an end in itself. Access to health services should not be a matter of choice but an indispensable right," concludes Miller.

Save the Children is calling on the Government to act urgently and decisively to tackle health and undernutrition by: • Developing a Maternal, Newborn and Child Survival Plan through convergence between ministries dealing with health, nutrition, food security and employment. • Ensuring that NRHM and ICDS programme deliver effectively • Increased budget spending on maternal and child health ENDS. For information and to arrange interview contact: Pragya Vats +91 9958219695 Notes to editor: Some of the shocking facts on India's health and hunger indicators: • Of the 9.2 million children dying every year globally, 2 million of them die in India • One out of every four children in the world who die under the age of one, is an Indian • One out of every three undernourished children is in India • Over 50 % of child deaths are associated with malnutrition • 70% of children under the age of five are anaemic • Over half of all pregnant mothers give birth without skilled birth attendant • Over 65% of infant and neo natal deaths take place in just five states - Bihar, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa

22% of all children whose birth weight record is available are a low birth weight baby, which is a significant contributing factor to malnutrition in later life.About Save the Children: Save the Children is the world's leading, independent organisation for children that works in more than 120 countries around the world. Save the Children India is a member of the International Save the Children Alliance. In India we are working on four core issues including Child protection, Child Survival, education and disaster risk reduction in 12 states and union territories and have reached over 3 million children across India.

Save the Children report 'Freedom from Hunger for Children Under Six' (April 2009) provides compelling evidence on nutritional status of women and children in India. Backed by evidence, the report reinforces the urgency to tackle hunger and malnutrition on an emergency footing if we are to meet our promises to the world and India's children.

Statistics sources: National Family Health Survey 3 (2005), WHO health statistics (2009), Unicef State of World's Children (2008)