Till 2013, four out of every ten children born in the village of Thesgora in Madhya Pradesh, died before their fifth birthday. In the last two years, this nondescript village has brought down that figure to less than 5%.
How?
By the simple act of hand washing.
India has a shameful record for under-five deaths - one in every 20 children born in the country dies before the age of five. Our under-five child deaths are seven times higher than other developing countries, where one in every 150 children, dies due to killer infections.
What’s startling is that most of these infections, like diarrhoea and pneumonia are preventable, treatable and can be reduced by half, with just washing hands.
Actress Kajol has been the brand ambassador of Lifebuoy’s ‘Help a Child Reach 5’ campaign since 2013 and has been relentlessly propagating hand washing to save lives.
The numbers are scary, horrible and frightening. And if one simple but effective thing can change that figure, then I think it is important to spread the message. The first 28 days of a child’s life are really important. 50% of children lose their lives in our country because of the fact that they have not had proper hygienic care.
Kajol, Actress
The link between hand washing and diarrhoea infections is irrefutable. The World Health Organisation has cited this to be one of the most proven, inexpensive and effective ways to reduce child mortality rates.
There is some good news too. Though the child mortality numbers will still send a chill down your spine, there is a silver lining to it. In the last 25 years, child mortality has come down by a whopping 62% in India.
Kajol told The Quint that 2 million children dying every year due to preventable diseases is just a statistic, which does not ring alarm bells. If it was trains packed with children crashing day after day, then it would have shaken up the government.
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