In the relentless pursuit of better healthcare and improved well-being for underserved communities, Sukarya relies on a dedicated and compassionate team of Community Health Workers (CHWs). These unsung heroes play a pivotal role in addressing critical issues such as anemia, malnutrition, and maternal-child health.
As the Chairperson of Sukarya, it is my privilege to share the journey and aspirations of our pioneering campaign, “Ghar Se Shuru,” launched in 2022. This initiative marks a significant stride in our enduring commitment to catalyze social change, starting from the most fundamental unit of society – the family.
This visionary step forward is designed to catalyze social change from the most fundamental level of society—our homes.
Maternal and child health and nutrition is an essential issue that needs to be addressed in India. Poor maternal and child health, inadequate nutrition, and a lack of access to healthcare services have been the major health challenges in the country. According to the NFHS-5 report, nearly 60% of the women and girls in the age group of 15-49 years are anemic and 32% of the under 5-year children are malnourished.
This article was published in Global Washington Blog : Nutrition & Food Security: Sukarya’s Ongoing Endeavor Since 1998 – Global Washington
I always go back by almost a quarter of a century to remember what prompted me to change my career from running a for profit business to something more responsible and gratifying to my inner self. Even today, I feel emotionally connected with the women and children of the urban slums and villages surrounding Delhi, Haryana, and Rajasthan. They have added unique perspectives to my thought process regarding designing programs to address different social issues at the grassroots level.
After personally witnessing the immense difficulties faced by slum dwellers in and around Delhi to access basic health care, some friends and I decided to set up Sukarya, to try and help them. We began by organising health camps, and they were so successful that Sukarya today has become a household name in the slums of Delhi and Haryana as a professionally run outfit which organises multiple interventions in the areas of maternal and child health, basic health care and economic empowerment of women.
Basanta Kumar Kar Chief Advisor and Mentor of Nutrition Board of Sukarya
Meera Satpathy Chairperson Sukarya
Dr. Amita Vyas Advisor of Nutrition Board of Sukarya
Dr. Shoba Suri Advisor of Nutrition Board of Sukarya
Shyama is a 13-year old rag picker who lives in Sector 56 Slums an urban slum of the Millennium city of Gurugram. Even as she segregates the garbage in a landfill, she carefully puts any edible leftovers in a separate polybag to take home for her pregnant mother and infant brother. Not surprisingly, she is underweight, her mother is severely anemic, and her infant brother is showing signs of early stunting.
Women and children as we already know, are bearing a disproportionate burden of the pandemic induced health and food crisis. At last count, according to the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 202O report, India had about 189.2 million undernourished people, majority of whom are women and children.
More than two decades ago I had a chance conversation with a neighbour’s house-help who I happened to meet on my evening walk. She was barely 17 years old and heavily pregnant. She looked pale and underweight. Later I regretted not asking her if she needed any help or support especially with her diet, nutrition and any other medical assistance. Few weeks later I heard that she died due to childbirth related complications. A young life snuffed out.
In a virtual press conference held in June this year about maternal, child and adolescent health during the Covid-19 pandemic, the WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that the indirect effect the Covid-19 pandemic is having on the health of women and children may outweigh the number of deaths from the disease itself. “As the pandemic escalates in low-and middle-income countries, WHO is especially …..
I always go back by almost a decade to remember what really prompted me to change a career from running a business for profit to something more responsible and gratifying to my inner-self. Even today, I feel emotionally connected with the women and children of Mewat because they added unique perspectives to my thought process of designing program(s) for addressing different social issues at the grass-root level.
If a mother is malnourished during pregnancy, or if her child is malnourished during the first two years of life, their physical and mental growth and development may be slowed. This damage incurred cannot be repaired at a later date and continues to affect the child throughout their life.