New Delhi: Building on its global expertise in the nutrition and wellness domain, Amway India, one of the country’s leading FMCG direct selling companies, celebrated World Health Day with a national webinar on building a better tomorrow with a focus on nutrition in children. Organized in association with its NGO partner SRF Foundation, the virtual platform brought together policy experts, subject-matter experts, and industry leaders to discuss current challenges and opportunities in improving nutrition and health amongst children, especially those under 5.
As per the latest National Family Health Survey (NHFS), 18 of the 22 states and Union Territories (UTs) have recorded an alarming rise in the malnutrition condition of children under five. While each of the surveyed states and UTs reported 22 percent or more stunted children, at least eight out of 342 surveyed districts registered more than 50 percent prevalence of child stunting. Deliberating on such critical issues and the need to address inequities in access to health and nutrition, present at the conference were Ms Jyotika Kalra, Member, National Human Rights Commission, MrsRajbalaKataria, Joint Director, Women and Child Development Department, Haryana, Dr Sujeet Ranjan, Executive Director, The Coalition for Food and Nutrition Security (CFNS), Mr Ajay Khanna, Chief Marketing Officer, Amway India Enterprises Pvt. Ltd, DrSirimavo Nair, Professor in Foods and Nutrition, Faculty of Family and Community Sciences, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Mr Basant Kumar Dube, District Immunization and Child Health Officer, Nuh and Dr Y. Suresh Reddy, Director, SRF Foundation.
Speaking at the conference, Ajay Khanna, Chief Marketing OfficerAmway India said, “The WHO theme* of World Health Day 2021 of building a fairer, healthier world is a clarion call to strengthen action in the best possible way to make lives healthier and better for every child in the country. Amway India is one of the foremost proponents of holistic nutrition and wellness. With our vision of helping people live better, healthier lives, we endeavor to make a tangible societal impact through multiple social initiatives. Aligned with the Government of India’s National Nutrition Mission, Amway had introduced its globally acclaimed campaign, ‘Power of 5’ aimed to raise awareness on the issue of childhood malnutrition and bring in the much-needed behavioral shift among mothers and communities at large. Leveraging the success of our pilot project in Kirari Village, New Delhi, we are launching the second phase of this project with SRF Foundation in Nuh district, Haryana. Under this two-year program, we intend to benefit over 51,000 people including 15,000 children in the age group of 0-8 years. I truly believe that with similar meaningful partnerships and collaborations, we can achieve the vision of a healthy India.”
Commenting on the initiative, Dr. Y. Suresh Reddy, Director, SRF Foundation said, “Despite significant economic growth, India still bears an unacceptably high burden of malnourished children. We are focused on channeling our efforts to support and help as many children as we can. With this collaboration with Amway India, we have initiated the process of spreading awareness at the grassroots level regarding basic nutritional and hygiene practices. We are thankful to the team at Amway India for their unwavering support.”
