To increase awareness about neonatal healthcare, the role and significance of neo-natal nurses and handling of newborns, UNICEF-India and National Neonatology Forum (NNF) organised the 6th International Neonatal Nursing Conference (ICNN) 2007 in New Delhi. The conference provided a perfect platform for sharing the experiences and concerns on neonatal issues. The conference aims at generating awareness and sensitizing the community about improving the standards of neonatal healthcare in India.
Union Minister of State for Women and Child Development Renuka Chowdhury inaugurated the conference. More than 700 doctors and nurses from across the globe attended the conference. During the conference the Minister formally announced formation of Indian Association of Neonatal Nurses.
Neonatal mortality today holds paramount importance in the quest to reduce the overall infant mortality rate in India. Globally, neonatal mortality constitutes almost 68 per cent of all infant deaths. Addressing this concern, the conference endeavoured towards raising the standards of neonatal care in India. Neonatal doctors, nursing leaders and practicing nurses from USA, UK, Australia, Canada, South East Asian and India were part of this conference.
Dr Marzio Babille, chief health, UNICEF India remarked, "Infant care has always been one of the key concerns that UNICEF has been addressing. Further the proportions of death are higher in the first two days of infant's birth. Therefore there is an urgent need to integrate and strengthen community based interventions amongst the communities."
Addressing the conference, Renuka Choudhury said the government of India, NNF and UNICEF are working closely on the broad strategy of Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illnesses (IMNCI). "This integrated strategy focuses on strengthening home-based care and provides special care for under-nourished newborns while constant in tandem with Anganwadi workers, ASHA- Accredited Social Health Activists to scale health facilities and reduce neonatal mortality rate. I hope to achieve our millennium development goal to reduce the burden of under-five mortality rates by two thirds soon," she said.
"UNICEF and NNF are addressing a very important subject through conference. The government of India has been undertaking initiatives and running various activities to counter high infant mortality rate and provide quality newborn care. India currently faces an extremely low nurse- population-ratio in India, lower than even Nigeria. Hence we need to take steps to motivate women all across the country and this can be possible if all the entities involved can join hands and spread the word," Renuka Chowdhury said.
Dr Manju Vatsa, Dr Satish Saluja and Dr Harish Chellani, organizing secretaries of ICNN 2007 said "Neonatal nursing is upcoming in India. NNF realizes this and supports the idea of putting forward special Neonatal team and Neonatal Nurse practitioners all across India in the community and specialized units. With an active support of UNICEF and Govt. of India we are sure to achieve the goal of increasing focus upon neonatal nursing in focus as specialized field of nursing. It acts as a catalyst to organize a resource base of trained manpower for effective functioning of proposed special care newborn units".