Maharashtra, May 2022: Dettol Banega Swasth India’s Reach Each Child program celebrated World Nutrition Day in Amravati and Nandurbar districts of Maharashtra. The campaign focuses on promoting correct breastfeeding practices and nutrition interventions by providing children, expecting mothers, women, and adolescent girls access to a healthy lifestyle, better nutrition, and improved hygiene.
Reach Each Child Program installed Takhtis at Zilla Parishad offices of village Dahendri, Amravati, Kekadbod, Amravati and Gangapur, Nandurbar signifying the efforts of mothers, their families and communities to ensure there are zero deaths due to malnutrition in the village. Also, as part of the initiative “Reach Each Child” voucher scheme was launched which would benefit hundreds of children who are malnourished. Chief guest Dr. Saheblal Dhurve, M.O.; Mr. Sanju Sakom – Head of Panchayat Dahendri (Chikaldhara, Amaravati); Mr. Anil Chavan – CDPO; Dr. Tilottama Wankhade – THO. (Dharni, Amaravati), Dr. Vaishali Pardesi – M.O and Dr. Sagar Gaidhar – M.O. (Akkalkuwa, Nandurbar) joined mothers and children to celebrate the collaborative efforts made towards building a sustainable and healthier future for the community at large.
Commenting on the initiative, Mr. Ravi Bhatnagar, Director, External Affairs & Partnerships SOA, Reckitt said, “At Reckitt, we are committed to empower local communities through raising awareness on correct dietary and breastfeeding practices; our objective through this initiative is to build a society where our children and mothers have healthy and happier futures. Good health and wellbeing are at the heart of our purpose at Reckitt. Through its efforts the Reach Each Child programme has been able to save thousands of lives in districts of Amravati and Nandurbar and we 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 Nutrition Day we continue to showcase our efforts to reach out to communities and upscale their health parameters, imbibe the basics of self-care among the people and improve overall health”.
Commenting on the partnership Mr. Mohd. Asif, Executive Director, Plan India stated “Our partnership with Reckitt for Reach Each Child program has helped us bring about a significant change in people’s lives, particularly that of children and mothers. At Plan India, we are all incredibly proud and delighted to be a part of the program and on the occasion of World Nutrition Day we continue to draw our focus and that of all development actors on developing and deepening the knowledge, skills and confidence of mothers and caregivers of children to proactively maintain healthy pregnancies, protect child’s health through innovative behavior change communication and community activities.”
Commenting on the program Dr. Tilottama Wankhade, THO. (Dharni, Amaravati) stated “Interventions of Reach Each Child on breast feeding practices and dietary diversity has resulted into zero death village due to malnutrition. Awareness campaigns such as today on World Nutrition Day complements the efforts on ground which is highly commendable.”
As part of the celebration, community nutrition workers demonstrated steps and benefits of hand washing and conduct panel discussions on the importance of health, hygiene and nutrition in our life. Nutritional experts from NRC showcased healthy recipes using local produce along with various other engaging and educations activities throughout the day undertaken by Reach Each Child program volunteers.
Reach Each Child nutrition program prioritises adequate nutrition for children within the first 1,000 days of life through locally-led initiatives, with community nutrition workers being key suppliers of information and services. Program has made a significant impact on families in the last two years, with no malnutrition deaths among supported children in Amravati and Nandurbar districts.