India to host Fourth Edition of Global Partners’ Forum 2018 in December

Sunita is a young girl from Uttar Pradesh who aspires to become a police officer. Despite initial resistance from her family, Sunita has gone beyond all odds to ensure that she is provided with all the educational opportunities required to achieve her goal. (Photo: SNS)


India will play host to the largest-ever Partners’ Forum on December 12 and 13, 2018, in New Delhi and will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

PMNCH (The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health) will bring together 1,200 partners from over 100 countries dedicated to the Every Woman Every Child (EWEC) movement and to the achievement of the UN Secretary General’s Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health (Global Strategy). This unique forum aims to unite PMNCH’s 1,000+ partners around common strategies so that every woman, child, and adolescent – no matter where they live – can survive, thrive and transform the world.

The forum will be co-hosted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, and PMNCH. Heads of State, Ministers of Health and other sectors would be present at the event. A big focus of the forum will be to share stories of how countries are successfully collaborating across sectors and stakeholders to fast-track improvements in health and well-being of women, children, and adolescents. There is mounting evidence that more can be achieved when sectors like health, education, water, hygiene, and sanitation and labour work together.

Acknowledging India’s significant achievements and commitment in addressing common challenges to improve the health and wellbeing of women, children, and adolescents worldwide, the global community has entrusted Government of India to host this year’s prestigious global Partners’ Forum and lead the dialogue on enhancing country-level action on Sustainable Development Goals 2030.

A set of 12 case studies will be launched at the event showcasing the power of partnership, cross-sectoral action, accountability, and political leadership across partner countries. One such success story chosen from India is Mission Indradhanush, an unprecedented collaboration between India’s Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and 11 other ministries to increase immunisation coverage among children and pregnant women to 90% by 2020.

This is the second time India is hosting The Partners’ Forum after 2010. The previous chapters of the forum have been held in Johannesburg (2014), Delhi (2010), and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (2007).