World Vision India's campaign mobilizes over 18 lakh people

Citizens ranging from schoolchildren to political leaders to soldiers were involved in the campaign, organized as part of World Vision India’s Global Week of Action 2014 which focussed on spreading the message of right nutrition for children below five and young mothers.

The initiative saw people from Mumbai to Guwahati and Delhi to Thiruvananthapuram engage in various activities aimed at creating awareness, including raising of hands, signature campaigns, puppet shows and balloon-dropping.

A child’s fifth birthday is a milestone that more than 6.6 million children every year do not live to see, due to malnutrition.

World Vision’s campaign aimed to be a movement that brings together people, organisations, governments and businesses to work with renewed focus and energy to achieve this goal.

Apart from members of the general public, World Vision India was able to mobilize in large numbers community members, NGO partners, corporate partners and journalists in a bid to spread the message across.

The under-five mortality rate in India has decreased over the last decade, to 52 per 1000 live births compared to 85 in 2003, while the infant mortality has decreased from 60 in 2003 to 42 in 2013. More children died during their early days of life, within the first month of birth. More people are getting aware of the importance of right nutrition, but there is still a long way to go.

“Not just me, but other women in the village have also become aware about caring more for our children.  We ensure timely immunization of our children and avail all the government facilities entitled for our children,” said Mamta, a young mother from Narsingh Pur, Madhya Pradesh, who participated in the campaign.

During another event held at Darjeeling, District Magistrate Punit Yadav voiced his approval, raising his hands saying “I support this cause.”

Dr Jayakumar Christian, CEO and National Director, World Vision India pointed out that this was not just about a week of action but about yet another opportunity to promote and drive sustained dialogue and action.

“Our experience in working with over 5300 poor communities in across India has taught us that lakhs of women and children in the developing world can be saved through implementing simple, cost-effective solutions like providing clean water and promoting skilled birth attendants to assist during childbirth," he said.

The Global Week of Action 2012 was able to garner the support of over 12 lakh people across the country, in a similar attempt by World Vision India at spreading awareness among the different socio-economic strata of India.