Swati is all of eight years old and the youngest of her parents’ four children. She goes to class 3 at a government primary school. When Swati’s class teacher told her parents that she is one of the most intelligent and curious children in her class, they were the proudest parents in Harnirpur. Uttar Pradesh. Having dropped out early from school, Swati’s parents wanted her to achieve a life that they could only dream of. They wanted her to finish her schooling and then go to college in the city. It was not just studies that Swati liked to do. She could beat the boys of the village at cricket on her day and she is also being taught to sing by one of the Didis, trained in classical music.
Swati’s parents do everything within their means to make sure that she grows up to become a very talented girl. So, her father makes sure he gets nutritious food especially for Swati. But there is one thing that worries Swati’s parents. She has been almost always sick. She has already fallen ill due to diarrhea twice this monsoon and half the monsoon has already passed. She has missed three weeks of classes and is now unable to comprehend her mathematics lessons. She is now visibly thinner and shorter than her cousin whose family lives in the city. The doctor at the Taluk headquarters hospital tells the parents that Swati is malnourished. Her father has made sure that he has done everything right. In spite of that how Swati has remained malnourished?
As an emerging economic superpower, it is quite tragic that more than one in three children in India are stunted. Stunting is defined by UN1CEF as the percentage of children, aged 0 to 59 months, whose height for age is below minus two standard deviations (moderate and severe stunting) and minus three standard deviations (severe stunting) from the median of the WHO Child Growth Standards. Stunting is associated with an underdeveloped brain, with long-lasting harmful consequences, including diminished mental ability and learning capacity, poor school performance in childhood, reduced earnings and increased risks of nutrition-related chronic diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension, and obesity in future. Thus stunting can be classified by itself as an illness as it leads to negatively affecting the present and future of the child. Multiple researchers have proven the link between illness and malnutrition/ stunting in children.
These children’s bodies divert energy and nutrients away from growth and brain development to prioritize infection-fighting survival. When this happens during the first two years of life, children become stunted. What’s particularly disturbing is that
the lost height and intelligence are permanent” - Jean Humphrey, professor of human nutrition at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Higher economic growth and increased spending on nutrition access programmes have not resulted in proportionate decrease in child malnutrition or stunting. Alternatively, research shows that India's issues can be explained through the lack of hygiene.
In addition, 9.2 % of the children are suffering from diarrhea at any given point of time (Prevalence of diarrhea (reported) in the last two weeks preceding the survey (%) -NFHS 2015-16). This leads to loss of school hours and an inability to enjoy their childhood fully.
The causes for Swati’s inability to reach her full potential is the same. Swati, her family and the whole of her entire village defecate in the open. Also, at her home, they do not boil or filter water before drinking. And the soap is only used for bathing and rarely used for washing hands. Doctor Saheb tells them that it is not enough to eat nutritious food, but the family must ensure that hygienic habits are followed.
- 3 SIMPLE HABITS:
- HAATH,
- MUH and
- BUM
Swati’s story is from last year. Changes are visible in her village. The government has encouraged the villagers to build toilets as part of the Swachh Bharat Mission. Hindustan Unilever Limited's Swachh Aadat, Swachh Bharat has covered Swati’s village as part of two of their initiatives. HUL's factory workers have visited Swati’s village as part of the Swachhata Doot initiative. Using mobile phones they have spread the message of using and maintaining clean toilets, drinking boiled or filtered water and washing hands with soap and the villagers have promised to maintain the hygiene habits. A 21-day Swachh Aadat curriculum on right habits has been introduced in her school. Today, all of her friends are messengers of change in their village. Swati’s family follows the three clean habits. Her future looks much brighter and the next Mithali Raj is in the making.
“Defecating in the open is the main cause of many diseases. Not only does it cause damage to the drinking water and food that we consume, but also directly affects the functioning of human hands and legs.
The women and children are mostly affected with anaemia. This is in fact caused by intestinal worms caused by the bacteria from the faeces caused by defecating in the open. The practice of using washrooms should be insisted right from childhood. It will bring an end to most of the diseases created."
- Dr. Ganesan, General Physician
“The difference in average height between Indian and African children can be explained entirely by differing concentrations of open defecation. There are far more people defecating outside in India more closely to one another's children and homes than there are in Africa or anywhere else in the world.”
- Dean Spears, Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Texas at Austin and author of 'Where India Goes'.
Hindustan Unilever Limited’s Swachh Aadat, Swachh Bharat is committed to spreading awareness and teaching millions of children Haath, Muhh, Bum by 2020. The latest campaign by HUL has created awareness about the 'OTHER CAUSE' for the multitudinous malnourished, sick children of India.
With a campaign that relates the story of a missed bus and a lost opportunity, symbolizing a lost childhood. Visit www.hul.co.in/sasb for the story about a group of children from Ramkulla in MP who loved cricket but missed the bus due to repeated illness.