CRY launches Joy of Five' Campaign across the country

CRY – Child Rights and You launched the “Joy of Five” campaign across the country to ensure children in the age group of 2-5 years have access to their basic rights and get a fair chance at a happy and healthy childhood. This fund-raising campaign is a part of the umbrella initiative “Healthy Start” which is focused on the importance of children under 6 years receiving essential care, nutrition and education.

The first five years are a crucial period in a child’s life. The years lay foundation for the growth of children into healthy and productive adults. It marks a crucial phase for a child, as 80% of the brain development takes place in this age. An emphasis on proper and effective nutrition, health care and education in this age is not only important but necessary. Lack of the same can lead to cumulative growth and development deficits largely irreversible in nature.

In India, millions of children do not celebrate their fifth birthday as they are deprived of these basic rights in early childhood. Vaccine preventable diseases are still responsible for over 5 lakh deaths annually in India. 48.4% of all children under five are stunted (an indicator of chronic malnutrition) while 20% of children are wasted (too thin for their height, an indicator of acute malnutrition)

Anita Bala Sharad, Director, Resource Mobilization, CRY- Child Rights and You says, “The age 2-5 years is a phase of maximum vulnerability as deprivation can seriously impact a child’s health, and learning potential. Inadequate nutrition and healthcare leads to many children not being able to reach the critical milestone of 5 years. With this campaign we are highlighting the importance of children being able to celebrate their fifth birthday and the urgent need to overcome hurdles to ensure they do.”

“We believe that a preventive approach, working in tandem with the community and local authorities remains imperative to address this issue. This involves creating awareness within communities to fight the long-term ill-effects of malnourishment, chronic hunger, lack of healthcare & unstable livelihoods and overcoming these challenges to access services. Along with our project partners, CRY works towards ensuring the local public healthcare and the Angandwadi centres have the necessary infrastructure and qualified health workers to provide effective delivery of quality maternal and child health care”, she added.

With the campaign, CRY will reach out to 2,50,532 children in the age group of 2-5 across its project areas and work to make sure they reach the 5th birthday milestone.