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India has the one of largest population of kids in the world. But when it comes to the health of the children, we terribly fail to safeguard them. Be it life expectancy or infant mortality, India ranks below Brazil, China, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh and only have always-in-strife Pakistan as our peer when it comes to the poor standard of health parameters. Read what ails India's healthcare system?
According to the latest estimates from UNICEF, India lost more than 13 lakh children under five years of age last year.Illness caused by pneumonia and diarrhoea can have long-term impacts on the health of children who survive, and can place a significant financial burden on families and health systems. Both diseases can be largely prevented with interventions including handwashing, breastfeeding, immunization, and appropriate care and treatment. Also read Why is the infant mortality so high in India?
Press release:
Dedicated to child health, members of Parliament and journalists today faced off at the second annual 'Batting for Life' Twenty20 cricket match.With one year remaining to reach the Millennium Development Goal deadline of reducing child mortality by two-thirds, players and participants sought to draw attention to the importance of expanding access to available interventions that can protect children against largely preventable diseases like pneumonia and diarrhea.
Congratulating the winning team while praising the initiative, Shri Jagat Prakash Nadda, Minister of Health & Family Welfare, said, 'It is a pleasure to be here today to highlight the very important issue of infant mortality (IMR) and child health. Purely going by numbers, 20% of total child mortality in the world takes place in India this is a cause for concern. The government is very serious about this issue and is working with several organizations to reduce infant and child mortality rates. We are drafting a new strategy to ensure 100% immunization coverage. We want to bring all stakeholders together for child health. Today s match was a good show and will sensitize people about the issue. We need to do much more to save our children. Let s make India Swasth Bharat along with Swachh Bharat. We are working very hard to achieve a healthy India by implementing immunization programmes more rigorously.'
Other notable participants supporting child survival at the cricket match included World Champion wrestler Sushil Kumaralong with several political leaders and journalists. Union Ministers Sarbananda Sonowal, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and Shripad Yesso Naik attended and addressed the audience.
'To be a successful athlete, one has to endure rigorous training, discipline and competition,' said Sushil Kumar, Indian World Champion wrestler, presented the Children s Champion and the Man of the Match Award. I made it as far as I have today because I had a healthy start as a child. Every child deserves that chance.
'Dedicating resources to ensure children can access the tools available is our moral obligation, and will only benefit the country in the long run, said the journalists captain, Shri Javed M. Ansari,Editor, National Affairs, Headlines Today. Healthy children make for a healthy and productive future for India.'
At the end of the tournament, players pledged to support every child s right to life and good health and called on others to lend their voice to the cause. Specifically, they noted the importance of access to available interventions and promised to work toward ensuring children across the country were able to benefit from existing interventions.
'I am confident that with the introduction of effective interventions and the commitment shown by the government, we can reduce the huge burden of child deaths from the country,' said MP captain Shri Anurag Thakur, Lok Sabha MP from the Hamirpur constituency in Himachal Pradesh. But success will require us all to continue working toward the goal we celebrate today, long after we leave the cricket match.'
The journalists team featured prominent media personalities such as Javed Ansari and Vikrant Gupta of Aaj Tak. Players on the MPs side included Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore, Derek O Brien, Manoj Tiwari and Kirti Azad, among others. The MPs team won the toss and elected to bat, putting up a total of 109 runs in the stipulated 20 overs for the Journalists team to chase. Shweta Singh, News Anchor and Deputy Editor Sports, Aaj Tak, was the commentator for the game, supported by Umpires RS Rawat and K Sharma.
About Batting for Life
Batting for Life is an annual cricket match between Members of Parliament and journalists that aims to raise awareness about the leading childhood diseases and reinforce every child s right to life and good health. The event is organized by Global Health Strategies and the Constitution Club of India, and hosted by Delhi Public School, Mathura Road.
Image source: Getty Images
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