New Delhi, Aug 25 (IANS): The Race for Survival, an event designed to draw attention to the need for better healthcare for women and children, was held here on Tuesday.

Thousands of children participated in the event, which was held ahead of the Global Call for Action meeting, being hosted by the health ministry, wherein several commitments at a global scale will be made for ending preventable child and maternal deaths.

These issues will also be raised at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly in September -- where global leaders will gather to endorse and adopt the global development framework that will shape the future of people and our planet for the next 15 years.

St. Columba's School emerged winners in the boys category. St. Mary’s School, Mayur Vihar, finished second while Montfort School took the third position.

In the girl's section, Loretto Convent School took the first position while Mater Dei School and Holy Child Senior Secondary School came in second and third, respectively.

Manav Rachna International School, Gurgaon, won the co-ed category followed by East Point School and Salwan Public School.

The Race for Survival was kicked off at the White House in Washington DC earlier this year and has been travelling across the world.

It will culminate in New York in September, just before world leaders gather at the UN General Assembly to ratify Sustainable Development Goals for the next 15 years.

After the race in India, children will hand over the health demands to policymakers at the Global Call for Action meeting. Over 20 schools and NGOs across Delhi participated in the race, which was organised by action/2015 partners Save the Children, Nine is Mine and Unicef.