Over 3 lakh '9 is Mine' petitions on Children's Day Eve Mr Finance Minister: Invest 9% of GDP in health and education On Children's Day eve, young 'Nine is Mine' campaigners hosted a press conference here to send 300,001 signatures to Finance Minister, P Chidambaram, demanding 9% of the GDP be invested in health and education, in Union Budget 08-09, as promised in the National Common Programme. November is the month when the Union government begins the budget exercise. Laxmi Gudillu, 12, signed the 300,001st signature on a giant replica of the signature postcards and gave it to Planning Commission Member Dr Abhijit Sen for delivering to the Finance Minister. Earlier, Dr. Sen released `Ensuring Universal Access to Health and Education in India,' a Status Report on health and education by Wada Na Todo Abhiyan (Keep your Promises Campaign), a national-level coalition of over 3000 civil society organisations and networks across 23 states that has been coordinating the children's 'Nine is Mine' initiative. "I cannot give you a figure for the next Union Budget, but there is going to be a substantial expansion on investment in health and education during the 11 th Five Year Plan," said Dr Sen. "Our great failure has been on both these accounts. Enabling and empowering people through education and on the health side, addressing this as a fundamental right." Laxmi Gudillu, who lives in the Sanjay Nagar slum in Jogeshwari, Mumbai, spoke of her meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh earlier this year, when the children presented him with the 200,001 st signature on 1 February 2007. "We were happy to hear that the budget for education and health was increased after our meeting, but there is much more to be done" she said. The youngest of five siblings, Laxmi attends the local municipal school and her educational expenses are borne by a local youth organization because her older brother, with whom she lives, is struggling to make ends meet. Supporting this effort, Prof. Imrana Qadeer who has authored the health section of the Ensuring Universal Access Report said, "The WHO calls for an allocation of 7.5 per cent of the GDP for health. India today allocates only 1% of its GDP to Health while Bangladesh, Nepal, Thailand, Brazil and South Africa have already reached levels over 3 per cent of the GDP, and western countries allocate 6 per cent and above to their health sectors." The Ensuring Universal Access Report is being released simultaneously in 10 states - Orissa, Meghalaya, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra , Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry – on Children's Day. Amitabh Behar, Convenor of the 'Wada Na Todo Abhiyan,' said that 500,000 children across India were expected to petition the Finance Minister before the Budget Session in February 2008. "Health and education must not be seen as isolated expenditures, but as part of the overall investment in the nation's development. Every child in India should have free access to health and education. It is the least the government can do to secure the future of the country," he said. A `Nine Is Mine' Children's Delegation has an appointment with Dr. Shantha Sinha, Chairperson of the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights, on Tuesday, the morning of Children's Day, to present their 'Nine is Mine' petition to her.