Pioneering the efforts of developing countries to improve family planning and reproductive health, India has pledged to double its contribution on the world forum called Partners in Population Development (PPD), a network of 24 countries working towards population stabilisation. India will now give $80,000 in place of $40,000 to PPD for its better functioning.

Health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad announced this at the three-day PPD conference held in Indonesia from 26th to 28th October 2010 where he represented India. He is also the chairman of PPD. At this inter-governmental forum titled, ‘promoting family planning and maternal health for poverty alleviation’, Azad said, “There is a need to devise effective strategy for knowledge management that includes establishment of learning sites, designing online courses on reproductive health and setting-up centres of excellence to demonstrate low cost innovations.”

India will also give 10 more scholarships to students from member countries for the post-graduate diploma course in public health management for the year 2011-12 at the National Institute of Health & Family Welfare here. Last year nine students from the participating countries had enrolled for these scholarships.

PPD, launched in Cairo in 1994, is an alliance of 24 countries including India, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Egypt, South Africa and Kenya. Sri Lanka, Nepal, Brazil, Philippines and Tanzania have also shown interest in joining the movement.