New Delhi: Highlighting how women play a significant role in society, the Ambassador of Israel to India, Naor Gilon, inaugurated a special project called ‘Saaras’ in collaboration with Khushi Foundation that promotes women’s empowerment, menstrual hygiene and awareness in, Arthala, Ghaziabad today (September 20). The ambassador inaugurated a centre with the facilities to produce eco-friendly and cost-effective sanitary napkins that do not go through any process of refining and chemical washing. The manufacturing unit has been established with the help of MASHAV- the Agency for International Development Cooperation in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Israel and the machine can produce 10,000 pads per day.
Also Read: The Connection Between Menstrual Hygiene And Sanitation
The envoy also participated in the menstrual awareness camp organized by the Embassy of Israel and doctors from the Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute.
Addressing the gathering, the ambassador highlighted that it is one of the many unique projects which is women dominated- from production to its distribution.
Speaking to ANI post-event, the ambassador called this a win-win situation and this project is one of such events that is being done to celebrate 30 years of full diplomatic relations between India and Israel. He said,
It is a part of a series of events that we are doing to celebrate the 30 years of full diplomatic relations between India and Israel. Our relations are outstanding in all fields. In Israel, women are a big part of the economy of society and the government. It’s only natural for us to do such kind of activity here. It is a project that is done by women, from Manufacturing to production to distribution. They earn money and they give very affordable equipment to women. So, it’s a very win-win situation and I am very happy to be here.
This project deals with all ‘pillars’ for menstrual health and hygiene upliftment: social support, knowledge, skills, facilities, and materials. From the first step of production of the pads to the distribution, the entire process is led by an all-women local team from within the community. Along with that, the project has collaborated with accredited social health activist (ASHA) workers from the Health department of Ghaziabad who have helped the team with sensitization and mobilization of the community.
India and Israel celebrated the 30th anniversary of full diplomatic ties earlier this year.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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.
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