The Health Ministry of Nepal has renewed its commitment to dedicate more efforts towards decreasing infant mortality in the country, said Dr Padam Bahadur Chand of the ministry on Sunday.

Infant mortality rate in Nepal stands at 33/1000 live births and the government intended to bring it down to at least 16/1000 births by 2015.

To meet this target, the government has been building more birthing centers in remote areas where the absence of hospitals has contributed more to the problem.

The ministry has organized a three-day conference - Every Newborn An Action Plan to End Preventable Death' - to tackle the issue, in association with USAID, UNICEF, Save the Children, Bill and Melinda Gate Foundation and the Children's Investment Fund Foundation with representatives coming from nine countries, including China, Thailand, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal.

"In the three days we spent here we listened to each others strengths and weaknesses. Over the coming days we will try to implant the success stories of each country and try not to repeat the mistakes made by each other," said Chand.