The U.S. government and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare launched a Rs. 58.1 crore health program aimed at improving maternal and child health and nutrition in India. More women in India die from complications associated pregnancy and childbirth than anywhere else in the world - and more than 1.2 million Indian newly-born babies within a month.

The Maternal and Child Health Sustainable Technical Assistance and Research Initiative (MCH-STAR) will work to improve maternal and child health care in India over the next five years through applied research, policy analysis, advocacy and technical assistance.

The initiative is a U.S.-India partnership comprised of the India Clinical Epidemiology Network, Population Foundation of India, the Public Health Foundation of India, the Emerging Markets Group, Boston University, and the Center for Development and Population Activities, a Washington, D.C.-based NGO.

Speaking at the event Secretary Naresh Dayal of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said, "We need an expanding reservoir of professional research, public health and technical assistance institutions working at global standards that can support government programs."

USAID Mission Director George Deikun noted, "We aim to make real improvements in the lives of women and their children through this unique program, led by Indian institutions and facilitated by U.S.-based global expertise."

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