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Child survival

international

moot opens in

Atlanta today

RECORDER REPORT

ISLAMABAD: An international conference on child survival will be held in Atlanta on April 9. The conference, hosted by former US President Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter, the Task Force for Child Survival and Development will develop an action strategy for the continued protection and growth of children into the next century.

Some 360 participants from 100 countries will celebrate successful child survival and development programmes.

During the conference, a global forum will address development issues that influence a child's ability to grow up healthy and hopeful. Representatives will share their own exemplary practices and models of excellence, all of which have enriched children's physical and mental health; educational opportunities; environmental surroundings; and social and economic development.

In small group sessions, participants will target priorities to promote children's well-being, review model programmes and obstacles, and formulate an action plan - the "Promise of Atlanta" - to advance these goals. Sponsoring agencies then will provide the measurement and data compilation resources necessary to evaluate the progress of the Promise of Atlanta.

In addition to The Task Force for Child Survival and Development and The Carter Centre, sponsoring organizations include the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Joseph B. Whitehead Foundation, the State of Georgia, Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, UNICEF, World Health Organization, The World Bank, The Rockefeller Foundation, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and others.