National Newborn Week is annually observed across the India from 15th to 21st November to reinforces the importance of newborn health as a key priority area and reiterates its commitment steered at the highest level.
- The annual observance is led by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India.
- National Newborn Week 2024 was observed from 15th to 21st November 2024.
Theme:
The theme of National Newborn Week 2024 is “Safety, Quality and Nurturing care – Birth Right of Every Newborn”.
Note- The theme of National Newborn Week since 2021 is “Safety, Quality and Nurturing care – Birth Right of Every Newborn”.
Significance:
Newborn deaths account for 47% of deaths among children under the age of 5 globally, resulting in 2.4 million lives lost each year.
WHO Response:
i.194 Member States of the 67th World Health Assembly (WHA) endorsed the Every Newborn Action Plan (ENAP) (Resolution WHA67.10) in 2014. The action plan led by United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization(WHO).
ii.The action plan was guided by the advice of experts and partners and by multistakeholder consultations and a web-based consultation with over 300 comments from stakeholders.
About India Newborn Action Plan (INAP):
i.India Newborn Action Plan (INAP) was launched in September 2014, for accelerating the reduction of preventable newborn deaths and still-births in India.
- INAP is India’s committed response to the Global Every Newborn Action Plan (ENAP), launched in June 2014 at the 67th World Health Assembly(WHA), to advance the Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health.
- In 2014, India became the first country to launch the India Newborn Action Plan (INAP), in alignment with the Global ENAP towards eliminating preventable deaths of newborns and stillbirths.
ii.Goals: To attain ‘Single Digit Neo-natal Mortality Rate (NMR) by 2030’ and ‘Single Digit Still Birth Rate (SBR) by 2030’.
