Chennai, Feb 6 (IANS): Over 200 delegates will take part in a three-day summit on child survival and development from Feb 7 in Tamil Nadu, an official said. It will be inaugurated by union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.

'India's Call to Action Summit for Child Survival and Development' will be organised by the ministry of health and family welfare at Mamallapuram in partnership with United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) and United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The summit is expected to discuss 10 themes related to child survival and development and the topics include new born health and child survival, interventions for preventing diarrhea, social determinants of child survival, nutrition and others.

It is also expected the summit will be able to arrive at an agreed set of actions and commitments and determine a follow-up mechanism for achieving India's goals for child survival and development.

The ministry of health and family welfare will be launching a strategic roadmap for reproductive, maternal, new born, child and adolescent health (RMNCH A), aimed primarily at reducing deaths of children from preventable causes.

It is notable that in India, the decline in under-five mortality rate (U5MR) has increased to 7.5 percent annually during the period 2005-10, the statement said.

The average U5MR has been lower in urban areas, at the same time its rate of decline has been faster in rural areas. It is also pointed out that the narrowing of the urban-rural gap, as far as child mortality is concerned, is a reflection of improved equity in health care.