MUMBAI: India’s most trusted news network NDTV, along with partner Dettol and Harpic, is back with a continuation of the NDTV-Dettol BanegaSwachh India campaign, but moving its focus from BanegaSwachh to BanegaSwasth India, supported by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan.

The BanegaSwachh India campaign began in 2014 when toilet coverage in India was 38.7% and now in year 2019 it stands at 99.78%. A success of this scale takes strong leadership at the highest level, public private partnership and clear vision and timelines. It is indeed a movement we and the nation are proud of. The campaign now has the same commitment towards a healthy India.

This year the campaign spoke about how a clean India leads to a healthy India as health can only flourish when the environment around one is clean. There is nothing more precious to human life than health. Governments and health experts have come up with a suitable health agenda that can be implemented across the country. 

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Therefore the campaign embarked on a new phase to make the country cleaner and healthier by focusing on the well-being of mothers and children. Malnutrition may not be a direct cause of death in children (under 5), but contributes significantly to high mortality and morbidity by reducing immunity, thereby increasing the risk of infections. Health as a subject encompasses Sanitation, Hygiene, Breastfeeding, Fortification, Nutrition, Food Security, Accessibility of treatment, care and support.

The focus of the discussion was also on the first 1000 days – 270 days in the womb and 730 days from birthday up to 2 years – as this period is a critical window of intervention for cognitive development and growth, preventing irreversible impacts of stunting. If hygiene and nutrition can begin there, a strong foundation can be laid for the future health of society.

In the course of this introductory launch, held at the JamnabaiNarsee School, Vile Parle (West), a call to action urged the supportive audience to contribute to the Swasth Box. This box will be curated specifically for post-natal care and will be given to mothers across the country, helping them to improve the chances of their babies surviving. Through this initiative the aim will be to give out the Swasth Box to every mother and child who needs one.

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 Talking about the initiative, Campaign Ambassador Mr. Amitabh Bachchan, said, “Sharing my personal experience that detection and testing of diseases like diabetes, hepatitis B and tuberculosis is the need of any hour.  We should bring more awareness on such diseases. Many of us either due to the lack of knowledge or just being lazy never want to go to a clinic to get ourselves tested. We all know that diabetes is a silent killer and many of us are unaware that we are suffering from diabetes. We have been working on tuberculosis and hepatitis B but we need a lot of government support in two ventures”.

Mr Gaurav Jain, Senior Vice President, AMESA, RB Health commented “Our journey towards Swachhta started five years ago with a great vision that brought Dettol BanegaSwachh India to life. The program’s conscious effort to drive behaviour change across communities has encouraged people to adopt better health practices and we are extremely proud of what we have been able to achieve together. To be able to drive lndia’s health agenda further, it is imperative for us to focus on another significant factor – Swastha. Given health today is more than an absence of illness – being healthy also means being fit and happy. The upcoming year will witness special attention on child nutrition and pregnant mothers that form the backbone of our future generations. This year the program is further complementing Govt’s initiative, Ayushmann Bharat.”

Also speaking at the event Dr Prannoy Roy, Co-Founder and Executive Co-Chairperson, NDTV said
“The deadline for India to become open defecation free is 2nd October 2019, which is the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. It was Gandhiji’s dream that the quality of life of every Indian should improve with sanitation, cleanliness and hygiene as its foundation. 
Along with the elimination of open defecation we are also working towards a country where our infants and most vulnerable citizens stay healthy. If we all come together we can achieve this. Please do join us in this campaign to ensure that our country is clean and healthy for our future generations.”
 

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