Understanding the essential need for health
literacy in the country, Create Stories Social Welfare Society organised an
informal health talk with underprivileged children in various slums of the
city.
Quoting the need for such educational
programs, Founder and president of Create Stories Deepak Sharma said, “Only 38%
of households reported using improved sanitation facilities in India, and just
about one third of households were following safe stool disposal practices.
Half of the states in India are still under 50% coverage of improved sanitation
facilities.” He cited a new study ‘Child health and unhealthy sanitary
practices in India’ 2019 using data from the fourth round of the
cross-sectional National Family Health Survey.
“41.9% children are stunted that is having
improper growth in MP, which is a sad figure and in order to improve, we have
to prepare children and parents to live a healthier life,” Sharma said.
Taking a step in the same direction, the
educational talk was organised where children were taught basic hygiene and
ways of staying healthy by avoiding unsanitary behaviour.
Steps like turning away from other people
and covering the nose and mouth with a tissue or the hand when coughing or
sneezing were highlighted with explanations for doing so. “If this is not done,
droplets of liquid containing germs from the nose and mouth will be spread in
the air and other people can breathe them in, or the droplets can get onto food,”
Sharma said.
Under house hygiene, special importance was
given to cleaning up and keeping only the needed stuff. “Raking up and
disposing of rubbish (for example, cans, papers, plastic containers, bottles,
broken glass), faeces and leaves is essential because it not attracts
negativity but can also attract germs and flies,” Sharma explained.
Citing Diwali, sweets were also distributed
with basic stationary items.