U.N. Secretary General Ban Commends India for Working to Improve Public Health

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday during travel to India met with Indian Minister of Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nazi Azad and "commend[ed] the country's progress on health," its "continued efforts towards achieving universal health coverage," and its "commitment to the Global Strategy on Women's and Children's Health," highlighting "its innovative programs in this area" and "the need to do more to promote the well-being of women and children," the U.N. News Centre reports (4/26). Recognizing the "work still to be done to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, Ban said he would like to showcase India's experiences and best practices in dealing with maternal and child health issues for others to follow," according to the IANS/Daily News. Ban also "said [U.N.] member nations ... are ready to help India in dealing with polio, malaria, tetanus, measles and HIV transmission-related mortality," the news service notes (4/26).