(REOPENS MDS20)

Observing that more than 6.9 million children die globally each year before their fifth birthday, Powell said, "This is a tragedy that we can and must address together." She said the US has set a national goal to bring pre-term births down to 11 per cent by 2020 for which it has launched a nationwide public-private partnership to raise awareness on bringing pregnancies to full-term. She said in the past several years, India has made significant strides in reducing under-five mortality from 125 per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 59 per 1,000 in 2010. Noting that the polio success story in India has shown what India is capable of when all tools at the country's disposal are used, she said, "India is on a strong path to achieving the target of reducing child mortality to less than 20 child deaths per 1,000 live births by 2035." Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare S Gandhiselvan said it is a matter of "grave concern" that India accounts for the largest number of under five deaths - nearly 1.5 million, of which close to 0.8 million die within 28 days of birth. Noting that many of these deaths are preventable with simple and cost-effective techniques, he said for India, the challenge was particularly formidable as it is the second most populated country with a population of 1.2 billion. "The National Rural Health Mission, Government of India's flagship programme has provided additional financial support to the tune of almost USD 15 billion since the launch of the Mission in 2005-06," he said.