Consultation on DFID's plan for working with Three Indias

[Guest guest]

Combined posting

1) Rs. 2,000-crore U.K. aid for healthcare

2) Consultation on DFID's plan for working with Three Indias

1) Rs. 2,000-crore U.K. aid for healthcare

Aarti Dhar

Targeted at the poor and marginalised sections

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Funds to be used for Reproductive and Child Health, AIDS control

programmes. DFID's new focus on Bihar because of poverty, low human

resource

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NEW DELHI: The United Kingdom's Department for International

Development (DFID) has announced a grant of Rs. 2,000 crore (£250

million) to India for improving access to healthcare services for the

poor and the marginalised sections and for achieving the Millennium

Development Goals.

The funds will be utilised for the Reproductive and Child Health

(RCH)-II programme, the National Aids Control Programme (NACP)-III

and other schemes being run at the State level for improving women's

health. Groups with a high risk of contracting AIDS such as

commercial sex workers and injecting drug users will benefit from

funds for expanding awareness programmes, Fiona Louise Lappin, acting

head, DFID-India, told reporters here on Wednesday.

Of this amount, Rs. 816 crore has been earmarked for NACP-III to deal

with HIV/AIDS infection between 2007 and 2012. Madhya Pradesh will

receive Rs. 480 crore for a new health programme (2007-2012), Orissa

Rs. 400 crore for a similar purpose (2007-2012) and Andhra Pradesh

Rs. 320 crore (2007-2010).

Apart from the Rs.2, 000 crore grant, the centrally-sponsored Mahila

Samakhya programme for empowerment of women will get Rs. 280 crore

for the next seven years and Rs. 360 crore will go to Madhya Pradesh

for its Rural Livelihoods Programme-II during 2007-2011. Most of the

funding will go directly to Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra

Pradesh.

Hike in budget

The announcement comes as the DFID launches a public debate on how

the UK aid can be spent better. Britain's aid budget for India is set

to rise to £300 million for 2008-2009 for improving healthcare,

primary education and poverty reduction. The DFID has its largest

bilateral aid programme in India to fight poverty. It works at the

national level as well as the State level with Madhya Pradesh,

Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal as its focus States.

" The DFID is now looking at Bihar because of extreme poverty and low

human resource indicators, " Ms. Lappin said.

The DFID also announced consultations on its plan to work with India,

which is going global, is developing and has one-third of the world's

poor people. It sought suggestions from stakeholders till September

on how to support India in translating its growth into poverty

elimination and development for all.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/06/15/stories/2007061500361400.htm

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2) Consultation on DFID's plan for working with Three Indias

The UK development programme in India is by far DFID's largest, and

will continue to grow over the coming years. DFID India is now

considering its new country strategy for the years up to 2015. On 13

June, DFID's Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Gareth ,

launched the public consultation on this strategy.

We are inviting comments on an outline plan, in which we suggest that

a three-way approach is the best way to engage with the many

different stages of development contained within India. Please give

us your views on the consultation document: " Ending poverty in India -

consultation on DFID's plan for working with Three Indias "

http://www.dfid.gov.uk/consultations/india-cap.asp

DFID funds the National Aids Control Programme (NACP) (£95 million

2005-2007).

DFID is working in partnership with National Aids Control

organisation (NACO) to implement the phase II of NACP . The focus is

on the promotion of safer behaviour among high risk groups from

contracting and spreading HIV. DFID is now preparing to support the

next phase of NACP. This will help to scale up HIV prevention

programmes to cover 80 per cent of high-risk groups.

We would like to hear your views…… on the context that we describe

and our broad plans for how we intend to work with the three Indias.

We would like your general reactions and any views you have on the

following specific questions:

How should the UK aid an increasingly successful India?

Are we proposing to work on the right issues?

How can DFID support India translate 8% growth into poverty

elimination and development for aIl?

What more could DFID do to help women, girls and poor people from

excluded communities tackle caste and other forms of discrimination?

How can DFID help strengthen the accountability of public services

from the national down to the local level in villages and slums?

How can the public and private sector work together better to improve

health services for poor people?

What more can DFID do to help tackle India's appalling malnutrition?

How can DFID best work with other UK Government Departments to help

India address climate change?

Please send your feedback…on the above questions and the Three Indias

strategy as a whole to DFID at indiacap@... before 10

September 2007.

Alternatively, comments can be sent in writing to:

India CAP

DFID-India

B-28, Tara Crescent

Qutub Institutional Area

New Delhi – 110 016

India

Access the document online at:

www.dfid.gov.uk/consultations/india-cap.asp