.....When a rural health centre works, it works wonders

Shivpuri (Madhya Pradesh), Oct 20 (IANS) Village woman Lajja was blessed with her second child in the wee hours of the morning at Chharch. The baby was born at the health centre in her village and she feels relaxed, safe and at home. The centre is taking care of her treatment, food and medicine - for free.

It is being funded by the Department of Health and Family Welfare, government of Madhya Pradesh, under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). This is unlike her first baby's birth when she had to travel more than 35 km away from her home. The centre was around at that time but was non-functional. Now it is revamped, expanded and provides 24x7 institutional care for pregnant women and infants. This has been possible due to funding from NRHM and support from Unicef.

It is helping save lives in an area that is 75 km away from the district headquarters and to reach which, one has to cross Kuna jungle. A well-built connecting road has helped. The centre makes an ambulance service available for pregnant women called Janani Express and serves as a vaccination centre for children. It is also the distribution point for vaccines for seven nearby centres.

Poonam, a seven-month-old girl, sits in her mother Jiyo's lap in the covered lawns of the Chharch sub health centre. Jiyo carries her child's immunisation card and waits for her turn to get Poonam vaccinated by an auxiliary nurse.

Poonam was born at a district hospital and was referred there by the Janani Express parked at the centre. Jiyo had problems in her delivery and thanks to the sub health centre and the availability of ambulance service in the remote area, she was taken to the district hospital. Jiyo thanks the staff at the centre and the facilities that helped her give birth.

Chharch village is in Pohri development block, 75 km away from the Shivpuri district headquarters. One has to travel through the Kuno jungle to reach this village. Though now it has a good connecting road to Shivpuri, it is still in the interiors and the nearest health centre is at Pohri, 35-40 km away.

Chharch used to be an old sub heath centre, but today it offers 24x7 services of institutional delivery for pregnant women. More than 500 safe deliveries have happened since its renovation in 2010. Two deliveries happened the day we visited. The sub health centre has had the Janani Express attached to the centre and is available 24x7.

Unicef provided not only financial but technical support to make this centre functional.

'It is a boon for our people,' quips a zila panchayat member.

Chharch has electricity problems, making things difficult for a vaccine storage unit. But now a solar refrigerator has been provided to the centre by Unicef. It also has solar lamps in case its services are needed at night and there is no electricity. Unicef had provided 20 such solar refrigerators to the state which are being used in districts like Sehore, Shivpuri, Dewas, Barwani, Khargone, Jhabua, Bhind, Morena, Chhatarpur and Panna. Chharch is proof of what wonders a fully functional rural health centre can do.

- Anil Gulati

चम्बल में बेटियों को बचाने के लिए आगे आईं महिलाएं

ग्वालियर। मध्य प्रदेश के ग्वालियर-चम्बल अंचल की पहचान बागी तेवरों के कारण पूरी दुनिया में है। डकैतों का ‘साम्राज्य’ भले ही अब इस इलाके से खत्म हो गया हो, मगर यहां के लोगों के बगावती तेवर अब भी बरकरार हैं। इस बार महिलाओं ने बागी तेवर अपनाते हुए बेटियों को बचाने की मुहिम छेड़ दी है। मध्य प्रदेश के चम्बल इलाके के मुरैना तथा भिंड जिले में बेटियों के जन्म को वर्षों से अभिशाप माना जाता रहा है। यहां आलम यह है कि बेटियों का या तो जन्म से पहले गर्भपात करा दिया जाता है या उन्हें जन्म के बाद मार दिया जाता है। यही कारण है कि यहां बेटियों की संख्या का अनुपात राज्य के अन्य जिलों के मुकाबले सबसे कम है।  
राज्य में शिशु लिंगानुपात 1000 बालकों पर 912 लड़कियां हैं, तो मुरैना में यह आंकड़ा 825 तथा भिंड में 835 है। यह स्थिति हर किसी को चिंता में डाल देने वाली है। सरकार की ओर से जारी कोशिशें भी अपना असर नहीं दिखा पाई हैं। बालिकाओं की कम होती संख्या से चिंतित महिलाएं ही बेटियों को बचाने के लिए आगे आई हैं। आंगनबाड़ी कार्यकर्ता गांव-गांव जाकर महिलाओं को जागरूक कर रही हैं, वे गीत-संगीत व नाटकों के जरिए महिलाओं को बेटी का महत्व बता रही हैं। आंगनबाड़ी कार्यकर्ताओं के ‘मुट्ठी बांधो बहना’ नाम से भिंड व मुरैना जिले में जनजागृति लाने वाले दल बनाए गए हैं। ये दल महिलाओं को बता रहे हैं कि बालिकाएं रहेंगी तो सृ‌ष्टि बचेगी। वे महिलाओं को संदेश दे रही हैं कि किसी भी सूरत में बेटियों को न मारें और न ही ऐसा करने वालों का साथ दें। अगर ऐसा करने को कोई मजबूर करता है, उसके खिलाफ थाने में शिकायत दर्ज कराएं। भिंड जिले के सिंघवारी गांव की बुजुर्ग महिला नारायणी बताती हैं कि किसी दौर में यहां बेटियों को जन्म के साथ ही मारने की कोशिश शुरू हो जाती थी। नवजात के मुंह में तम्बाकू द॓कर मार दिया जाता था। जब ऐसा करने में सफलता नहीं मिलती थी तो उसकी गर्दन दबा दी जाती थी। वह बताती हैं कि पहले से यह प्रवृत्ति कम तो हुई है, मगर पूरी तरह खत्म नहीं हुई है। बेटियों को मारने की प्रवृत्ति का खुलासा अभी हाल ही में भिंड के खरउआ गांव में हुआ, जहां पूर्व सरपंच ने कथित तौर पर अपनी बेटी की हत्या कर दी। महिला बाल विकास के संयुक्‍त संचालक सुरेश तोमर बताते हैं कि बेटी की हत्या करने वाले व्यक्‍ति के खिलाफ कार्रवाई की गई है। वह आगे बताते हैं कि सरकार की ‘लाड़ली लक्ष्मी’ जैसी योजना बेटियों को समस्या मानने वालों की सोच में बदलाव लाने में मददगार बन रही है।
 
महिलाओं में जागृति लाने के लिए आंगनबाड़ी कार्यकर्ताओं के भिंड व मुरैना में दल बनाए गए हैं। ये दल जब भिंड जिले के सिंघवारी गांव में नाटक प्रस्तुत कर रहे थे तो महिलाएं व बच्चियां इसके गीत-संगीत से प्रभावित नजर आईं, साथ ही उन्होंने बेटियों को बचाने का संकल्प भी लिया, मगर गांव के पुरुष वर्ग के लिए ये महज मनोरंजन से ज्यादा कुछ नहीं थे। दल की सदस्य भी यह बात मानती हैं कि उन्हें कई दफा विषम परिस्थितियों का सामना करना पड़ता है, मगर आखिर मेंं वे अपना संदेश पहुंचाने में सफल हो ही जाती हैं। वे हर रोज दो गांवों में जाकर गीत-संगीत के जरिए महिलाओं को उनका अधिकार भी बता रही हैं और बेटियों को बचाने का संदेश भी दे रही हैं।

पूरे देश में मानव तस्करी एक बड़ी समस्या

भोपाल.शुक्रवार को यूनीसेफ के तत्वावधान में सेंसटाइजेशन ऑफ पुलिस ऑफिसर्स टूवर्ड्स वलनेरेबल ग्रुप्स एंड ह्यूमन ट्रैफिकिंग इशूज पर दो दिवसीय कार्यशाला का आयोजन नूर-अस-सबाह पैलेस में किया गया। कार्यक्रम का शुभारंभ मुख्य अतिथि गृहमंत्री मप्र उमाशंकर गुप्ता ने दीप प्रज्जवलन कर किया।

इस दौरान कार्यक्रम में विशेष रूप से उपस्थित यूनीसेफ मप्र चीफ डॉ. तान्या गोल्डनर ने अपने विचार रखें। उन्होंने ने बताया कि पूरे देश में मानव तस्करी एक बड़ी समस्या है। यह एक गंभीर समस्या है और चौकाने वाली बात यह है कि इन तस्करी के कारोबार में बच्चों की तस्करी भारी मात्रा में कि जा रही है। उन्होंने ने बताया कि मानव तस्करी पर काबू पाने के लिए हमें कड़े कदम उठाने कि जरुरत है।

इस दौरान उन्होंने शासन के साथ-साथ आमजन से इस के खिलाफ आवाज उठाने की अपील की है। उन्होंने इस मुद्दे पर समाज में जागरुकता की अलख जलाने पर जोर दिया। कार्यक्रम में बतौर मुख्य अतिथि उपस्थित गृहमंत्री उमाशंकर गुप्ता ने इस समस्या से निबटने के लिए कड़े कदम उठाने का आश्वासन दिया। उन्होंने बताया कि इस समस्या से निबटने के लिए हम तैयार हैं और हमारी पुलिस इस मसले पर संवेदनशील भी है।

कार्यक्रम के दूसरे चरण में सेंसटाइजेशन ऑफ पुलिस ऑफिसर्स टूवर्ड्स वलनेरेबल ग्रुप्स विषय पर चर्चा की गई। इस सत्र में उत्तराखंड की रिटायर डीजीपी कंचन चौधरी ने समाज में बच्चों और महिलाओं की स्थिति के बारे में चर्चा की। उन्होंने बताया कि पुलिस को अपने व्यवहारिक कार्य के दौरान लोगों से सहीं व्यवहार रखना चाहिए। उन्होंने इस दौरान बच्चों और महिलाओं के सशक्तिकरण पर बल दिया। उन्होंने बच्चों में तेजी से बढ़ रही अपराध प्रवत्ति के कारणों पर प्रकाश डाला। इस दौरान आईपीएस पी.एम मोहन ने बताया कि आमजन की राय पुलिस के प्रति ठीक नहीं है। वह पुलिस के काम करने के तरीके को गलत समझती है।

इस दो दिवसीय कार्यक्रम में चार-चार सत्र होंगे जिसमें देश के विभिन्न शहरों और प्रान्त से वक्ता अपने विचारों को रखेंगे।

Media workshop to promote breastfeeding held

Gwalior - The State Department of Women and Child Welfare, along with UNICEF, launched a week-long campaign for world breastfeeding week (August 1-7) on Sunday by organising a workshop for mediapersons on the issue.

Highlighting the importance of breastfeeding to enhance health quotient and safety of child and mother, Joint Director Women and Child Development Department Suresh Tomar said in his opening remarks, “Breastfeeding can help in curbing malnutritionto a large extent.”

“Exclusive breastfeeding for first six months after birth could have the single largest impact on child survival. Media can play an important role by creating awareness and breaking myths on this issue, he added. He thanked UNICEF for supporting a campaign on breastfeeding.

Ajay Gaur, a well-known child specialist said, “An infant must be breastfed within an hour of birth and one should continue breastfeeding a child for atleast upto two years.”

“This has a long lasting impact on child's health and growth and it has been proven scientifically,” he added.

Manoj Verma, a senior journalist emphasised the need to sensitise media on this crucial issues. He said media has a social responsibility to create awareness on such social issue.

A street play on the issue of breastfeeding was staged on this occasion.

Physically-challenged-Munni-Bai-brings-change-single-handedly-in-Shivpuri

Munni Bai is physically challenged and has a limp in one of her legs. But that doesn't stop her from traversing the dusty by-lanes of a remote village in Shivpuri, one of the most backward districts of the country. She lives and works in village Atara of Shivpuri district which is around 150 km away from the hustle and bustle of the State capital.

Atara is no different from lakhs of other villages in the country there is 14 to 16 hour power cut, few private toilets, absence of pucca houses, no regular water supply to homes. However, there is one thing which makes this village different from many others, that is majority of children are healthy and are not malnourished in this village even though the most of the households are very apparently living below the poverty line.

Munni is the force behind increased awareness on breastfeeding in her village. She, in her casual but quite effective style, communicates with not only the women but also the men of the village and ensures that every newborn in this village is fed exclusively on mother's milk for the first six months and the child continues to be breastfed for at least two years after their birth.

"In addition to immunization, it is necessary to emphasise the importance of optimal breastfeeding practices to curb malnutrition," says Munni Bai, adding that this is one of the most effective ways to ensure better health for a child in early years.

"My son is two-and-a-half months old and I ensure that he is being raised for the first six months only on mother's milk. I was told about this by Munni Bai and the doctor in the hospital," says Sadhana, a resident of Atara village.

According to Census of India 2011, Shivpuri has a challenging indicators with 60 per cent children are malnourished, sex ratio of 877 (877 women for every 1000 men), an indicator of distinct gender bias. The child sex ratio in the district is 889. The overall literacy rate for Shivpuri is 63.7 per cent while the female literacy rate stands at 49.5 per cent.

Munni Bai, however, continues to work tirelessly hoping that if her village can be changed many other villages too can change.

Trained by UNICEF, to communicate effectively on such crucial issues, Munni Bai says, "From August 1 to 7, we are observing World Breastfeeding Week in a big way in this village. This time we have roped in men also. After all, mothers do need support of men in the family to ensure that they are able to take care of their children."

About 5 years ago, Munni Bai was identified as a village volunteer as part of joint intervention of UNICEF with district administration and NGOs. Later, she made her way to become anganwadi worker. She works very closely with the Panchayat and other agents trained under the UNICEF assisted projects.

"To begin with we have convinced men in the village that the women should not be working in fields for first two years after the birth of the child. It helps to ensure that the child is breastfed at the right time and does not have to remain hungry just because the mother is busy working in the field," she added.

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An uphill task for M.P.

The Hindu, byline - Vijetha S.N

Vaccines against deadly diseases like polio, tuberculosis and hepatitis B have to be stored, transported and administered with abundant caution or else the results can be disastrous, as was demonstrated to a group of journalists this past week during a field trip to villages around Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh. The trip was organised by the UNICEF in partnership with the Indira Gandhi National Open University.

Madhya Pradesh has been facing the uphill task of trying to achieve full immunisation with regard to its migrant tribal and rural population. “Data for the State shows it is not up to the mark and that there is lack of awareness, lack of education and lot of misconception regarding vaccination,” said UNICEF communication specialist Anil Gulati.

The National Rural Health Mission funds the vaccine process, with the UNICEF providing all the technical help. The vaccine is administered at the village health centres, called sub-centres. In Darai village, a few km from Jabalpur, the anganwadi doubles up as health centre to service its 1,100 population.

The anganwadi, the Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) and the Auxiliary Nurse-Midwife (ANM) workers under the NRHM scheme are directly responsible for the actual administration of the vaccine. The cycle of the vaccination process starts with the ASHA worker. It is the ASHA worker's job to mobilise villagers and convince them to get vaccinated, which is not an easy job.

“There was this eight-month-old child suffering from malnutrition and the mother was not allowing us to vaccinate the child. I pestered her and stood outside her house for almost a month before the child was finally brought in…. I feel the child is alive today only because of me” said ASHA worker Sulochana, adding she does not get a salary but incentives whenever she manages to convince mothers to bring their children for immunisation or when she convinces an expectant mother to opt for institutional delivery.

In the next step, the anganwadi worker makes arrangements for the process and finally the ANM worker administers the vaccine . The vaccines have to be handled with extreme care, as they are extremely sensitive to slight changes in temperature, some being averse to heat and some to cold. There are special temperature-equipped storage and transportation facilities for both types of vaccines.

“Even though wrong administration of vaccine cannot result in death, it has to be administered within four hours of removal from storage or else the results could be deadly,” said District Immunisation Officer Satish Upadhya.

The responsibility, in a way rests on the ANM worker. “I have been trained especially to administer all vaccines and I take care to do a quality check on each and every vaccine, one mistake and the entire village will stop getting their children vaccinated,” said Lahera, who is the ANM for five villages.

Preventable disease is still the main reason for high infant mortality rates, despite efforts to provide vaccines against them, mainly because of unwilling parents due to misconceptions arising out of adverse reactions like fever and swelling immediately after the vaccine is administered.

A vaccine is not administered to the public unless it has been tested for years and it is continuously monitored for safety and effectiveness. However, every human body is different and a rare reaction following vaccines may occur but it is the only way in which to fight against death and morbidity due to disease.

According to the Census, infant mortality rate, considered to be a significant indicator of the overall health status of the country, has been on a steady decline from 129 per 1,000 live births in 1971 to 58 in 2005.

Although the country is far from achieving the legacy of the small pox eradication programme, the sustained campaign by the Government to provide vaccination against these pestilential and epidemic diseases is partially responsible for this decline.

प्राथमिकता में नौनिहालों का स्वास्थ्य

मध्यप्रदेश में टीकाकरण को बढ़ावा देने के लिए 2011 को ‘टीकाकरण वर्ष’ घोषित किया गया है, प्रदेश में टीकाकरण की स्थिति को बता रहे हैं राजु कुमार.

मध्यप्रदेश में शिशु मृत्यु दर एवं बाल मृत्यु दर बहुत ही ज्यादा है. प्रदेश में टीकाकरण की कमी के कारण भी हजारों बच्चे असमय मौत का शिकार हो जाते हैं. ये बच्चे उन बीमारियों का शिकार हो जाते हैं, जिन्हें टीके के माध्यम से रोका जाना संभव है. सूचना एवं जागरूकता के अभाव में प्रदेश के आधे से ज्यादा बच्चे टीकाकरण से वंचित हैं. टीकाकरण के दायरे को बढ़ाने के लिए प्रदेश सरकार ने वर्ष 2011 को ‘टीकाकरण वर्ष’ घोषित किया है. राष्ट्रीय ग्रामीण स्वास्थ्य मिशन के संचालक डॉ. मनोहर अगनानी कहते हैं, ‘‘टीकाकरण के प्रति लोगों को जागरूक करने एवं इसके लिए मूलभूत संसाधनों को उपलब्ध कराने का प्रयास इस साल किया जा रहा है.’’

मध्यप्रदेश में पिछले कुछ सालों में टीकाकरण की स्थिति में सुधार देखने को मिलता है, पर उसे संतोषजनक नहीं माना जा सकता है. 2002-04 में जिला स्तरीय स्वास्थ्य सर्वे-2 में 30.4 फीसदी बच्चों का ही संपूर्ण टीकाकरण हो पाया था. यह 2007-08 में किए गए जिला स्तरीय स्वास्थ्य सर्वे-3 में बढ़कर 36.2 फीसदी तक पहुंच गया. इस बीच लगभग पांच साल में 5.8 फीसदी ही टीकाकरण बढ़ पाया था. जबकि इसके महज एक साल बाद कव्हरेज इवैल्यूएशन सर्वे 2009 में प्रदेश में संपूर्ण टीकाकरण का स्तर 42.9 फीसदी पर पहुंच गया. यद्यपि यह राष्ट्रीय औसत 61 फीसदी से बहुत पीछे है, पर एक से दो साल के बीच स्थितियों में आई तेज सुधार से यह संभावना जगी है कि मध्यप्रदेश को राष्ट्रीय औसत तक पहुंचने में ज्यादा समय नहीं लगने वाला है.

प्रदेश में टीकाकरण की स्थिति में सुधार के लिए यूनीसेफ राज्य सरकार को लंबे समय से मदद कर रहा है. अब टीकाकरण को बढ़ावा देने के लिए यूनीसेफ ने इंदिरा गांधी राष्ट्रीय मुक्त विश्वविद्यालय (इग्नू) एवं मध्यप्रदेश सरकार के साथ मिलकर ‘मीडिया की सहभागिता’ कार्यक्रम की शुरुआत भी की है. पिछले दिनों यूनीसेफ ने जबलपुर एवं भोपाल में इग्नू एवं स्वास्थ्य विभाग के साथ मिलकर पत्रकारों के लिए कार्यशाला का आयोजन भी किया. मध्यप्रदेश में यूनीसेफ की प्रतिनिधि डॉ. तान्या गोल्डनर कहती हैं, ‘‘टीकाकरण अभियान में मीडिया का सहयोग लेने से गांव के लोगों में टीकाकरण के प्रति जागरूकता बढ़ेगी और कार्यकर्ताओं लिए यह उत्साहवर्द्धन करेगा. टीकाकरण के प्रति जनमानस जागरूकता बहुत ही जरूरी है क्योंकि इससे जीवन की रक्षा होती है, खासकर ऐसे राज्य में जहां शिशु मृत्यु दर देश में सबसे ज्यादा है. हमारा उद्देश्य एक-एक बच्चे तक पहुंचना है, इसके लिए मीडिया एवं पत्रकारों की भूमिका बहुत ही महत्वपूर्ण हैं.’’

यूनीसेफ के संचार अधिकारी अनिल गुलाटी कहते हैं, ‘‘हमारा उद्देश्य मीडिया के माध्यम से लोगों तक टीकाकरण के बारे में सही जानकारी को पहुंचाना है, जिससे कि लोगों के पूर्वाग्रह खत्म हो और वे नियमित टीकाकरण में अपने बच्चों को लेकर आएं. इसके साथ ही जहां अच्छे प्रयास हुए हैं, तो उनकी प्रक्रिया मीडिया में आए, जिससे कि अन्य जगहों के स्वास्थ्य कार्यकर्ता प्रेरणा लेकर टीकाकरण के दायरे को बढ़ा सकें.’’ टीकाकरण से तपेदिक, पोलियो, डिप्थीरिया, काली खांसी, टेटनस, हेपटाइटिस-बी, खसरा एवं जापानी एंसीफैलाइटिस जैसी जानलेवा बीमारियों से बच्चों की रक्षा होती है. शिशु मृत्यु दर एवं बाल मृत्यु दर के आंकड़ों में कमी लाने के लिए इन बीमारियों से बचाव बहुत ही महत्वपूर्ण है.

प्रदेश में अभी भी सिर्फ 12 जिले हैं, जहां 50 फीसदी से ज्यादा संपूर्ण टीकाकरण हो पाया है. 5 जिलों में 40 से 50 फीसदी, 15 जिलों में 30 से 40 फीसदी एवं 18 जिलों में 30 फीसदी से भी कम टीकाकरण हुआ है. बालाघाट जिले में 90 फीसदी से भी ज्यादा टीकाकरण हुआ है. एक आदिवासी बहुल एवं दुर्गम इलाके वाले जिले में टीकाकरण की इस सफलता ने देश के लोगों का ध्यान आकर्षित किया है और उसे मॉडल मानते हुए उसी तरह के प्रयास अन्य जिलों में किए जाने की सिफारिश कर रहे हैं.

Saving the new born: A word of wisdom for men too!

Guna (Madhya Pradesh), Aug 4 (IANS) On a rainy afternoon, a group of six youngsters, including a girl wearing dark red kurta and jeans, was waiting for the showers to stop in Tunk Parolia, one of the poorest and backward villages of Guna district.

As soon as the rain stopped, around 150 people gathered around them, many of them women covering their face with their sarees. A handful of village elders sat on homemade cots.

All eyes were on this group of young people, who took the centre stage on a mud platform and started performing a street play. For the village, which has no pucca houses and very few television sets, which remain switched off for the major part of the day due to absence of electricity, street plays hold more appeal than any Bollywood blockbuster.

The villagers’ eyes are glued to the mud platform, where the group is performing a 45-minute play titled ‘Baat Pate Ki’ ( Words of wisdom).

The play is laced with messages of how important it is to take care of the health of infants and mothers, and as the actors deliver their crisp dialogues in local dialect, with a hilarious script thrown in, the action suddenly stops.

One of the actors turns towards a group of young and middle aged men sitting in the audience and fires the question: ‘When was the last time you asked your wife whether she got time to breastfeed the child, whether your child has been immunized and whether the mother has also been immunized?’

A stunned silence follows. The men seem embarrassed.

The actor adds: ‘Isn’t it true that you are only bothered about your child the day he or she is born and then only when they have to be married?’

The men nod their heads and honestly accept the fact. One can catch the glimpse of faint smiles on the almost covered faces of the women, many with kids on their laps.

At the end of the play, the actors make the men take a pledge that they will support their wives and other women of their families.

And, to begin with, they agree to ensure that their children are breastfed. In the backdrop of the mud platform, named ‘Mukhauta Kala Manch’, are a series of posters highlighting the importance of breastfeeding.

‘We are highlighting the importance of healthcare for children, with major focus on breastfeeding,’ says 23-year-old Shishupal, a resident of the same village. He has registered as a local volunteer with Unicef.

‘I take out two to three hours every day after working in the fields and try to convince the villagers to change their approach on various issues. Breastfeeding is one of the most important issues,’ he said.

He had arranged for this performance in this village, which is around 40 km from Guna city. The village is not easily accessible, especially during monsoons.

‘The villagers cannot afford to go to doctors often and they hardly have any money for medicines. We are just telling them that it would be good if children are breastfed exclusively for first six months and for another one-and-a-half years. After that, they can be given semi-solid food along with mother’s milk. This increases their immunity and chances of survival,’ he added.

Vishnu Jha, who heads the street theatre group, says: ‘We are highlighting the importance of the role men have to play in supporting women and children through this street play.’

Jha and his group will be performing in 21 villages over the next few days to tell villagers the importance of breastfeeding newborns. Mukhauta Kala Manch artistes are a busy lot. It is almost dark and they have to prepare for another show in another remote village in the area. So the youngsters jump on to their rickety Maruti Van and humming songs from the street play, drive off, even as it starts drizzling again.

A quiet revolution saving rural children's lives

By Sandeep Pouranik, IANS :  Jhabua (Madhya Pradesh) : Eleven months ago, Rudra was born as a severely underweight infant in a remote village called Semrod in Jhabua, a predominantly tribal and one of the most backward districts of country with around 47 percent of its population living below poverty line.

Rudra weighed less than two kg at the time of his birth and the family was skeptical about his survival, even as they prayed for his well being. His mother Anita was worried and didn't know what to do. The elders in the family were pressing to give the child some herbs diluted in water or milk, as was the tradition in their village.

But Anita's sister Kala Jaani, a local Anganwari worker, opposed this 'recipe' for the new born, who was already struggling to survive. She convinced Anita to breastfeed the child within an hour of his birth.

Anita decided to follow Kala's instructions on timely initiation of breastfeeding.

Mother's milk was the only feed for Rudra during the first six months of his life. Anita didn't even give him water. Rudra's health and weight started improving singinificantly. On completion of first six months, Anita started giving him some soft-mashed food items as prescribed by Kala, apart from continuing to breastfeed him.

Today, Rudra is one of the healthiest children of his village. He weighs a healthy 8.2 kg and is out of the underweight category at Kala's Anganwari centre register.

But more importantly, he has become an example to the women of the village, convincing them to do away with superstitions and breastfeed their infants.

Kala, in fact, has been on the forefront of this campaign to convince mothers to breastfeed their newborns within an hour of birth, give the child only mother's milk for the first six months and continue breastfeeding for atleast the first two years of the baby's life.

"There is a marked difference in our village now among the children who have been exclusively breastfed and those who haven't," Kala told IANS.

"It was hard to convince people initially to understand the importance of breastfeeding, especially the village elders. But with time and sustained efforts, they have realised the importance, perhaps," she added.

According to Tania Goldner, chief of the Unicef office for Madhya Pradesh, breastfeeding and complementary feeding are simple and proven interventions which can reduce child mortality rates by upto 19 percent.

She adds that Unicef advocates initiation of breastfeeding within the first hour of birth, exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months and timely introduction of nutritionally adequate, safe and age-appropriate complementary feeding to give a much needed and healthy start to an infant's life.

The result of such simple interventions is visible in Semrod village, where one can see healthy, energetic children playing with each other everyday. And the Angawari worker is in the forefront of the quiet revolution saving their lives.

After an initial training, Kala now has the knowledge and skills to work with mothers and families, and is fully committed to her community and their future -- the children.

Mobilising media on routine immunisation

- Anil Gulati

Jabalpur : Somati, is an anganwadi worker working at anganwadi centre (child care centre) loacted at Sarrai village, 30 kilometres 'north off Jabalpur town' in Madhya Pradesh, central part of India.

This Tuesday she along with Auxiliary nurse midwives (ANM) and ASHA (accredited social health activists) were at the centre attending to rush of mothers who had come with their infants and little kids for vaccination.

As soon as one enters the centre, one could see vaccine vials on the molds of ice packs on the ‘only table covered by white sheet’ at the centre and on the other side mothers carrying vaccination cards in their hands and patiently waiting for their turn.

Few mothers had neatly wrapped vaccination cards of their children in a newspaper, while some had it in plastic bag. But all of them had it.

Last Tuesday of every month, this centre functions as immunization centre for the village. And today was the vaccination day; all children whose vaccinations were due are being vaccinated by ANM. Anganwadi worker and ASHA mobilised parents to come to the centre and also attend to mothers and give them the needed iron tablets.

This Tuesday was a special one.

They had visitors. The visitors were media representatives from Jabalpur, and Delhi. Mothers and children were being photographed, interviewed and were giving ‘radio bytes’! It was not only this but more.

Media representatives were informally interacting with community representatives and service providers, trying to understand from them how they work, what are their challenges, do all parents bring their children, if not how do they convince them? What do they do to make sure that vaccine remains potent even when the centre does not have electricity etc.

Some of the villagers knew names of few newspapers, which they had read but some they had not even heard.  But today all of them were in the village and had come from Delhi and Jabalpur to see their work.

This is part of media partnership programme between UNICEF, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and Government of Madhya Pradesh to bring media on to its fold to help increase media discourse on routine immunisation.

‘Mobilising media on this issue will help create a push on generating demand by communities and push within the system for vaccination of children.  This is important as 'immunization saves lives' and important in state which has highest infant mortality rates and a low routine immunisation level’ shares Dr Tania Goldner, Chief, UNICEF office for Madhya Pradesh.

"We need to reach out to each and every child," she further adds. 42.9 % children of Madhya Pradesh are full vaccinated in Madhya Pradesh as per coverage evaluation survey done in the year 2009 by UNICEF.

As a part of this media partnership programme an interactive and educative video conference was held simultaneously at Delhi, Bhopal and Jabalpur between media, officials of health department of Government of India and Government of Madhya Pradesh, UNICEF and IGNOU in June this year.

Preceding this media persons were taken to field in Bhopal in June and later in Jabalpur.

"The idea was to see the immunisation in the field, how vaccines are stored, transported, what is cold chain, how vaccine vial monitor helps to identify potency of vaccine in field, share the micro planning process, with them," says Dr Gagan Gupta, Health Specialist with UNICEF office for Madhya Pradesh.

He, along with Government of Madhya Pradesh health officials, walked media teams through the entire process of vaccine storage, micro planning process, to its distribution to community health centre, and to end point where children were being vaccinated at the health centre.

"Things are changing, people are getting aware of the immunization, but we need to expand our outreach and overcome barriers like low literacy levels, myths and superstitions. Hence need to reach out with information become more important and it is here where media and this partnership can play an important role," Dr J.L. Mishra, Joint Director Health, Jabalpur Division.

UNICEF highlights importance of breastfeeding in a special meet in Bhopal

Bhopal: UNICEF organised a special meet here in collaboration with the Department of Women and Child Development. The sole purpose of the meet was to highlight the importance of breastfeeding, which according to Dr Tania Goldner, Chief of UNICEF for Madhya Pradesh, is ‘is a simple, proven, and natural intervention that can reduce child mortality rates.’

The first week of August is marked as World Breastfeeding week and members of UNICEF assembled together to gather the media support to spread awareness.

According to Dr Goldner, high coverage with optimal breastfeeding practices, especially exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life, could have the single largest impact on child survival.

And this is important for state of Madhya Pradesh which has high infant mortality rates.

Anupam Rajan, Director Women and Child Development, Government of Madhya Pradesh said that state is stepping up efforts for promoting the same.

When girls ask: Why?

India Blooms News Service. Little fingers from Bhopal bring out concern on bias towards girl child, water crisis and corporal punishment. Anil Gulati reports

"I even dance in my dreams, I love dancing, it is my passion, but my parents and brother don’t like my passion, they say I would not be able to dance after Class 10. But why? These is the question of Tammana, a girl presently in tenth grade in a Bhopal school.

Varhsa another girl studying in eighth grade questions "why there is difference between girl and boy child". She argues: "When my brother comes to house from outside my mom asks me to give him water and food. But will that be same when I come from outside? Will my brother be asked to help me with food and water?"

These are voices of girls who are part of school forums set by Child Rights Observatory, an NGO advocating on child rights in Madhya Pradesh in 20 urban schools of Bhopal with support from UNICEF office for Madhya Pradesh.

Few of these voices of girl child were reflected in a poster published by Child Rights Observatory titled "What do our girls say?"

Seema, another girl who wrote in the poster, said that we are two sisters but they are clueless why people "ask my parents that if we have brother?"

School forums are child rights groups in 20 schools of Bhopal and nearby, which meet at intervals and discuss about child rights issues. But these are not ‘very formal meetings’. They are play and learn kinds, explains Sonali Jana, an officer with Child Rights Observatory.

"This is start of the process; gradually we encourage them to have their own wall paper and also plan to expand this network at district level. Children contribute in meetings by their writings, drawings and many times speak out in various forums which we organise," Jana says.

Naveen, Khushi, Deepti and Anjana are also members of school forums and by writing poems, stories have brought out the issue of child labour, impact of poverty on children, environment and also reflecting about new things they are learning in school.

Rahul Kushwah, a student of class 7th from Bhopal, contributed a drawing on impact of drinking unsafe water in children magazine titled as Chakmak, brought out by Eklavya, a non-Governmental organization working on education.

His drawing reflected on the harmful effects of drinking contaminated and unsafe water.

Ankur, a child in Class 6 in a Bhopal public school shares his concern on menace of polythene bags in the city and how they are lying around near dustbins and are not cleaned for days together. He expresses concern on cows eating polybags by writing an article in a children magazine run by a media house.

Likewise Pooja from same school talks about growing water crisis in Bhopal and how Bhopal’s water body Upper Lake is losing its water. Krishna, a girl child, questions why teachers and parents beat them instead of explaining where they have gone wrong.

Sometimes it is just scolding but there are times when they are asked to kneel down, stand outside in sun, beaten up with a stick, or are paraded around the lawn of school. But why?

"It is encouraging to see that we are getting more spaces for children to air their views and opinions. This needs to be encouraged and more opportunities should be created for children to speak out on issues that impact their lives, which is their right," says Dr Tania Goldner, Chief, UNICEF, Madhya Pradesh.

Age no bar in India when it comes to marriage!

Rajgarh (Madhya Pradesh), May 16 (IANS) Lakhan, dressed in a cream suit with a flashy headgear on his forehead and a garland of currency notes around his neck, should have been attending his school and preparing for the ensuing summer break at this time of the year.

But donning the traditional attire of a groom, he was at an ancient temple in Rajgarh district of Madhya Pradesh to seek blessings from the local deity not only for himself but also for a teenaged girl sitting beside him.

Amid the unending stream of people, one could easily miss the girl, decked up in a saree, the traditional Indian dress for women. She refused to take off the veil in spite of the heat. There were several other young people like the couple making a beeline to seek the blessings of the deity.

Lakhan reasoned: "She is too shy and, moreover, it is not good to take off the veil in the presence of family elders."

Lakhan and his bride did not carry any proof of age before getting married at this temple and are visibly underage. So are hundreds of others like them.

Their families travelled from another district of Madhya Pradesh to get them married May 6 this year on the occasion of 'Akshya Trithiya', considered to be an auspicious day for solemnising marriages according to Hindu mythology.

Every year, 'Akshay Trithiya' witnesses thousands of child marriages in several parts of the country in blatant violation of the law.

According to the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, the minimum age of marriage in India is 21 years for males and 18 years for females.

The State of the World's Children 2009 report by Unicef indicates how widespread the violation of this law is in India.

According to the report, 47 percent of India's women aged 20-24 were married before the age of 18, with 56 percent of them in rural areas.

The report also revealed that 40 percent of the world's child marriages are conducted in India.

According to the National Family Health Survey-III, out of 47.3 percent of women aged 20-24 married by the age of 18, at least 2.6 percent were married before they turned 13, while 22.6 percent were married before they were 16.

Around 44.5 percent were married when they were between 16 and 17.

The survey also highlighted the fact that states like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Andra Pradesh continue to witness a high number of child marriages.

Dr. Tania Goldner, chief of the Unicef office in Madhya Pradesh, says: "Child marriage is violation of child rights. Early marriage denies the child of the basic rights to health, nutrition, education, freedom from violence, abuse and exploitation and deprives the child of his or her childhood."

"At least 20 districts of Madhya Pradesh have high incidence of child marriages, particularly Badwani, Rajgarh, Shajapur, Sheopur, Neemuch, Sehore, Mandsaur, Chattarpur and Shivpuri," Nirmala Buch, president of Child Rights Observatory, an NGO working for child rights in the state, told IANS.

Though the state government is making an effort to curb the practice, there is a long way to go, says Buch.

Recently, the Madhya Pradesh government's department of women and child development and the district administration of Bhopal were able to intervene and stop three child marriages in the Ratibad area, but such success stories are rare.

Meanwhile, Lakhan had been able to convince his family elders to leave the newly wed couple alone at the temple for a minute.

The shy girl, who stopped going to school much earlier, lifted her veil and both of them got their first 6X4 inch 'Marriage photograph' clicked for Rs.20. Both of them were smiling in their first picture as a 'happily married' couple.

Need for effective enforcement of child rights: Experts

Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh), April 30 : There are several laws to protect the rights of children in India but what is required is effective enforcement of these rights, prominent members of judiciary said here Saturday. "There are laws for children in India but the challenge is to enforce them. Child is the supreme asset of the nation," Justice Rakesh Saxena of Madhya Pradesh High Court in Jabalpur told the symposium on "Child Rights and Law".

Several district judges, civil society organisations and state government departments are participating in the two-day symposium organised by Human Rights Law Network in partnership with Unicef office for Madhya Pradesh and the state department for women and child development. The aim is to sensitise judiciary and senior government officials and to explore ways and means for strict implementation of these laws, said a UNICEF official.

Justice S.K. Gangele of Gwalior bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court emphasised the need for effective implementation of laws related to child rights at the ground level. "There is a need to engage workers at the grassroots level in the implementation of these laws," he added. Tania Goldner, chief of Unicef field office for Madhya Pradesh, said: "There is an urgent need to bring in higher level of enforcement and strengthen implementation of laws and schemes to let children enjoy their rights."

‘Child marriage is violation of children’s rights’

Civil society consultation on prevention of early marriage was held here on Wednesday at the Academy of Administration.  More than 100 civil society organisations from various districts of the State like Rewa, Hoshangabad, Chhatarpur, Rajgarh, Sehore, Raisen, Badwani, Jhabua, Morena, Tikamgarh, Datia, Guna, Gwalior, Indore, Shivpuri, and Bhind participated in the programme.

Chief of UNICEF in Madhya Pradesh Tania Goldner speaking on the occasion said that Child marriage is violation of children’s rights - whether it happens to girl or boy as it denies the basic rights to health, nutrition, education, freedom from violence, abuse and exploitation and deprives the child of his/her childhood. Though the marriages are coming down but the pace is slow, India contributes to 40 per cent child marriages in world, she added.

Goldner further said that State is taking steps and have law in place, as well as several schemes and programmes focused on Girl child and adolescent girls. But need is to engage communities, address the social norm related to child marriage and make sure that no child loses her or his childhood due to early marriage.

Two girls Pooja and Poonam from Bhopal narrated their stories in the meeting. Poonam resented her own marriage and was able to fight her family and now is studying in school.

Principal Secretary Women and Child Development BR Naidu spoke about the law and how law can help prevent early marriages. He added the need to make use of the law both by communities and civil society organisations. We need to engage community leaders to create awareness in them and make sure that all get married after legal age of marriage, he added.

Nirmala Buch President Child Rights Observatory said that need is to evolve a sustained long term campaign against early marriage in coordination with all stakeholders to support implementation of law in high alert districts. We need to empower decision making in the girl child through focusing on the issue in schools, she added.

Secretary Health & Family Welfare SR Mohanty said that the need is to engage gram Panchayats, Asha workers and field level workers to stop the child marriage at district level. Civil society organisation worked in groups and worked on the key priority areas they would like to focus on coming months and areas where they need support from the State and Police.

Poster on 'voices of girl child'

A unique poster 'Voices of girl child' was released in Bhopal by 30 girls from 6 schools on the occasion of National girl child day. Girls expressed their views and opinions on gender discrimination & feeling about society in this poster. 

A Bhopal based NGO Child Rights Observatory (CRO) has sat up school forums in 6 schools of Bhopal. All girls (Syeda, Pooja, Seema etc.) who were present at the launch was excited and said they want to rise higher but there are barriers in the society, it is the support from parents which encourages one to move forward. Pooja student of class 7th wrote in the poster that why girl’s are only advised to do things in certain manner or not and questioned that why norms are only for girls?

President of Child Rights Observatory Ms. Nirmala Buch says, "This is part of our work to encourage child participation. CRO has set up 6 school forums in Bhopal schools and we plan to expand this to other districts. The girls who have contributed are symbolic of many other who speak out in school forums on issues which impact them and against the discrimination."  Dr. Sheela Bhambal, Secretary, Child Rights Observatory who encouraged the girls and in interaction with them said that girl is no less then boys.  She added CRO publications will encourage children to contribute.

Anil Gulati Communication Specialist, UNICEF office for Madhya Pradesh says, "This is way to lead and is one of the ways to let the voices of children to be heard." Lalit Shastri and Dr. Uday Jain, Executive Members of CRO interacted with girls present at the occasion and encouraged them to express their views and opinions.