Dettol Banega Swasth India celebrates World Health Day with its nutrition initiative Reach Each Child in Amravati and Nandurbar

Reach Each Child programme celebrated World Health Day for a #HealthierTomorrowin Amravati and Nandurbar districts of Maharashtra. Aligned with World Health Day theme – Our Planet, Our Health, the campaign focuses on nutrition interventions by giving mothers & children, expecting mothers, women in the village, and adolescent girls access to a healthy lifestyle, better nutrition and improved hygiene.

As part of the campaign, Reach Each Child is actively working on improving hygiene behaviour, child nutrition, and maternal health in First 1000 days of mother and child through promoting nutrition sensitive interventions by focusing on awareness of local produce, promoting kitchen gardens, importance of a balanced diet and increasing health seeking behaviour.

Chief guest Dr. Rageshri Mahulkar, M.O. (Chikaldhara, Amaravati) and Dr. Tilottama Wankhade, T.H.O. (Dharni, Amaravati) and Mr. Rajkumar Aiwale (C.D.P.O., Dhadgaon, Nandurbar) joined mothers and children in the districts of Amravati and Nandurbar to celebrate the collaborative efforts made towards building a sustainable and healthier future for the community at large.

Commenting on the partnership, Ravi Bhatnagar, Director, External Affairs & Partnerships SOA, Reckitt said, “At Reckitt, we are committed to making a healthier tomorrow and leaving no one behind. Our objectives align with building a society where our children and mothers are healthy and have happier futures. We believe in taking action by providing essential knowledge on nutrition, healthy lifestyles, making sustainable dietary choices and ensuring better hygiene for a healthier tomorrow. Through its efforts the Reach Each Child programme has been able to save thousands of lives in districts of Amravati and Nandurbar and aims to continue to scale up the effort. The aim is to create awareness on the importance of health, hygiene, and nutrition in the First 1000 days for the health of mothers and children, and provide access to healthier choices. This World Health Day with its theme ‘Our Planet, Our Health’ aligns with Reach Each Child’s objectives and offers an opportunity to take action for sustainable and positive choices for the health and wellbeing of our children.”

 Mohammed Asif, Executive Director, Plan India stated “PLAN India aims to empower local communities to drive behaviour change that has a long-lasting impact on their lives. Our approach is to understand problems and incorporate targeted solutions that help alleviate them from the ground up. We believe that when people – especially women and girls – have access to good health, hygiene, and sanitation services, the benefits trickle down to the entire community. These focus areas align with WHO’s theme this year – Our Planet, Our Health, helping India become a Swasth country while prioritising the society’s wellbeing.”

Dr. Rageshri Mahulkar, C.M.O, PHC Katkumbh, Village Kamida, Chilkhadara Block, stated “Reach Each Child is an excellent program aimed at reaching every child and reducing malnutrition and guiding mothers to eat healthy food, register their pregnancy on time, take rest during the gestation period and go for regular check-ups for a healthy delivery”

Committed to act through field efforts, the line-up of events focused on:

·         Healthy Recipe demonstration – Creating recipes using local produce

·         Health Talk – Discussions conducted by Chief guests on the importance of health, hygiene, and nutrition in our lives and how they can lead to a healthy future

·         Hand washing – Demonstrating steps and benefits of handwashing

·         Poshan Rally – Rally led by Sarpanch and women of the village to create awareness around the benefits of using local produce in diet and the nutritional benefit they carry.

·         Health Camp- Screening camps organised for identification of malnutrition cases in the village along with NCD’s

·         Felicitation of Success stories – Honouring success stories within the community to motivate people that change is possible, and everyone can have a healthy life and sustainable future

The Reach Each Child programme is focused on the first 1,000 days of life for new mothers and prioritizes adequate nutrition for children during these days through locally led initiatives with community nutrition workers. Programme has made a significant impact on families in the last two years, with no malnutrition deaths among supported children in Amravati and Nandurbar districts.