New Delhi: As we mark World Health Day on April 7 with the theme ‘Our Health, Our Planet’ that aims to bring global attention on urgent actions needed to keep humans and the planet healthy, Banega Swasth India speaks with Neelam Makhijani, Country Director and CEO, ChildFund India to know how we can foster a movement together and help create societies focused on health and well-being for all.
NDTV: On World Health Day, the theme this year is ‘Our Health, Our Planet’, what is the significance of this theme?
Neelam Makhijani: I think, if we as individuals are healthy, we can keep our planet healthy as well. Everyone has taken a lot for granted and it is highly important that we mark these days as they bring focus back on important issues and highlight the fact that more needs to be done. What we currently need is the global attention on the issues related to our planet. COVID-19 pandemic has also raised the focus on health, along with that the rise of other diseases like lung cancer, heart attacks and strokes due to air pollution – all are demanding that urgent actions are taken towards the well-being of the society as a whole and the ecosystem. I don’t think we are living healthier. There is a lot more every one of us can do to lead a healthy lifestyle and to bring focus on this point this year’s theme ‘Our Health, Our Planet’ is very-very important.
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NDTV: What do you think needs to be done, to reimagine a world where clean air, water and food is available to all and to achieve the ultimate goal of ‘Health For All’?
Neelam Makhijani: A world with clean air, water and food, available to each one of us, is basically the ideal world scenario we are talking about. However, I think, practically, this dream of reimagining the world, which is healthy can be made possible, if we take concrete steps towards health, make more investments. We spend very minimal amount of our Gross Domestic Product on health. In last two years, we have realised the importance of investing more on healthcare and its facilities.
Question: When it comes to India, what are some of the challenges that we need to tackle urgently to achieve the goal of ‘Health for All’?
Neelam Makhijani: We need to understand first the root cause of why we are not able to achieve ‘Health for All’. We tend to most often address the symptoms because we look at the short-comes. In a country like India, poverty is a huge root cause along with other factors like lack of awareness and education. We need to understand all these issues are interlinked. It is like a vicious circle; you address one thing and then move on to another.
ChildFund India really believes that the children and the young people can be the game changers for every one of us. I think, if each one of us will take small steps, do our bit for the society, planet and ourselves, we will be able to achieve the goal of ‘Health For All’.
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NDTV: What are the health implications of climate change that we are already seeing and how is it likely to intensify in the coming years?
Neelam Makhijani: Climate change is affecting everyone, even our children. It is impacting our food chains; it is affecting what we consume. As a result of climate change, the disease burden on the planet is increasing. The kind of diseases we hear now, when we were young, they were non-existent.
All these issues are also increasing the load on our mental health. The important question really is how do we create children and young people who will be strong and resilient to take up the challenges in future.
NDTV: In your experience what are some of the unique challenges bin our road ahead to ensure healthcare reaches our tribal population and the marginalised section of the society?
Neelam Makhijani: We have a long way to go when it comes to ensuring ‘Health For All’. Our infrastructure is the biggest challenge when we talk about catering to the last mile or person. Getting access to healthcare in whatever part of the world is an individual’s constitutional right. But how do we ensure that really is a question. The second challenge in India is the human resources in the primary and secondary healthcare facilities. Slowly, the gap is getting bigger. The other challenge is that 60 per cent of India is rural and we tend to subside tribal under rural, which should not be the case. This is the one area; I think we have gone wrong. We treat our tribal tribe under rural but the terrain in which they live, their lifestyle, food habits, everything is very different and we need to understand that.
NDTV: In India we do have a manpower crunch when it comes to healthcare providers, compared to WHO standards. How much does this gap widen further when it comes to areas habituated by tribals? How can we bridge this gap?
Neelam Makhijani: The gap is huge. According to the statistics, 40 per cent of primary healthcare centres and 31 per cent of community healthcare centres in India lack primary resource to cater to the community. In our country, medical care, outside the government care is extremely expensive. It is expensive for you and me as well, so imagine it for people who are less fortunate. The data also suggests that 60 per cent of paediatricians position in India’s government hospitals is still vacant. There is n-number of data that highlights the gap between human resources available at healthcare facilities is rising. And mainly it is rural and tribal communities that are at the suffering end.
NDTV: Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 3) talks about ensuring Good Health and Well-being for all at all ages, how far is India from this goal?
Neelam Makhijani: For India to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 3) by 2030 in eight years, I think, we will really need a magic wand. I think, we are very far from achieving these goals. Prime Minister very ambitiously announced that India will be free from TB by 2025, we are in 2022, we are nowhere near it and that’s an analogy for many other indicators as well.
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NDTV: How has COVID-19 pandemic affected the targets of SDGs and what are some of the learnings from this pandemic?
Neelam Makhijani: I think COVID-19 took us back a little to achieve these goals, but just a little, it was not like we were thriving and ready to achieve the goals. What COVID has done is basically amplified issues that already existed. What the country is facing today in terms of issues and challenges are not new.
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NDTV: Your specific message on World Health Day?
Neelam Makhijani: My message on this World Health Day will be that children are very-very important, they are very close to our heart. We should realise that every child matters irrespective of the background or where they come from. I think, if we start valuing every life, just by giving them the basics – dignity, health and their rights, it will have a significant impact on how we see our country by the time 2030 comes.
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NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.