New Delhi: “With the goal to ensure a holistic healthy life for all Indians, we begin the ninth season of NDTV-Dettol Banega Swasth India campaign,” said Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan as he kickstarted the Lakshya Sampooran Swasthya Ka 12-hour telethon. Through this campaign, NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014. Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan has helmed the campaign as an ambassador since the beginning. Saluting India’s health heroes and their selfless commitment as he begins the 12-hour Lakshya, Sampoorn Swasthya Ka telethon, Amitabh Bachchan said, “You have just seen and heard from India’s health heroes. The people who help us in our greatest time of need – when we get sick . These are the people who save lives on a daily basis. Imagine if they weren’t here. They are our literal life lines. We salute them for their service in India’s journey to achieve good health and fulfilled lives for all Indians.”
Further talking about the campaign and the focus in the ninth year, which is on creating a holistic and a healthier India for each and everyone, Mr Bachchan said,
This year as we celebrate 75 years of freedom, during Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, join us for Lakshya Sampooran Swasthya Ka, our goal is to ensure a holistic healthy life for all Indians. Can we do it? Yes, if we all come together, we can achieve this goal. And that is what Banega Swasth India Season 9 will focus on.
Further elaborating the work done by the campaign in the last eight years, Mr Bachchan said,
For the last eight years we have brought you ideas, information and expert advice on how we as a nation can achieve holistic healthy lives. We began with Banega Swachh India with the agenda of making India clean, prioritising hygiene for all. Much before the COVID-19 pandemic, we raised awareness about proper hand washing techniques across India.
Highlighting the statistics and achievements of the campaign, Mr Bachchan said,
In Season 1 of the campaign, we raised 280 crores for building toilets. Nothing can be achieved without education. So, in season 2, we had ‘Swachhata Ki Paathshala’ and we created hygiene curriculum to encourage children to follow proper hygiene from a young age. This season, also saw, 1.16 crore hours being pledged by people across India to help clean their surroundings.
Talking about the focus areas and agenda of other seasons, he added,
In season 3, we launched #Mere10Guz with the idea that each individual should be responsible for keeping their immediate surroundings clean.
In season 4, we retained all our agenda from previous seasons at the core, in addition to focusing on clean, compost and waste segregation drives at individual and policy levels. In season 5, we moved our focus to air pollution and encouraged individuals and authorities to make it a top priority. The campaign also created a clean air agenda with the help of doctors and experts.”
Talking about the switch from Swachh to Swasth, Mr Bachchan said,
Keeping in mind the Mahatma’s dream of a clean, hygienic and healthy India, in 2019, we made the natural transition from Swachh to Swasth. The focus in that season was on healthy mothers, healthy children, and nutrition for all. The campaign also curated and distributed a medically approved ‘Swasth Kit’ for mothers & infants during the critical 1,000 days.
Giving a recap of the last two season’s journey of Banega Swasth India, Mr Bachchan added,
Season 7 saw the launch of the Swasthya Mantra. The campaign identified the three pillars of a healthy nation – health, sanitation & hygiene, and environment. Whereas, last year, the campaign highlighted 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.
Mr Bachchan had a message for all,
The push for us to get better and do more, over the years has come from all of you. Our viewers and the community, the participation that we have got over the years, have inspired us and given us the momentum to continue our mission.
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.
