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Delhi child rights body launches campaign to fight hunger, malnutrition
New Delhi: The Delhi Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) has started a programme to help children whose parents have lost work during the nationwide
New Delhi: The Delhi Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) has started a programme to help children whose parents have lost work during the nationwide lockdown, which has been in place since March 25, to control the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
As part of the ‘Delhi Against Malnutrition’ campaign, the commission is providing support to children up to the age of 6 from families of out-of-work daily wage labourers. The DCPCR regularly stores data of poor children. The DCPCR has also joined hands with the Centre For Advocacy and Research (CFAR), an NGO that works with marginalised communities, to distribute milk packets to these children on a daily basis.
Covid-19 continues to spread in the national capital, where the contagious disease has so far infected 2,248 people, and killed 48.
Around 2,000 families are being benefited by the initiative, which began last week, on a daily basis.
DCPCR member Ranjana Prasad said the commission has curated a list of food items for children based on the nutritional values of each product and suggested distribution of the same through Anganwadis and food distribution centres.
“Based on the list DCPCR has created nutritional kits for children, which includes but is not limited to baby food, milk (fresh/powdered), energy biscuits, and distributing them among the underprivileged families on need basis,” she said.
Prasad said the commission has also partnered with private companies that produce and sell eatables to channel their products to these children, to ensure a continuous supply of nutritious food.
“We have also provided 10,000 packets of glucose biscuits to the district magistrate’s offices in all the districts of Delhi. The commission is also sending cornflakes and biscuits packets to the government’s hunger relief centres across the city,” she added.
Juhi Jain, CFAR’s senior programme specialist said the NGO had identified children from poor families, whose parents neither have cash reserves nor wages to afford a daily supply of milk.
“Relief agencies had so far probably overlooked milk as a food item necessary for children, but DCPCR immediately used its networks to arrange the same for children in our project areas,” Jain said.
The areas of distribution include Mazdoor Kalyan Camp, Okhla, JJ Camp Anand Vihar; Transit Camp Khichdipur; B 45 Sanjay Camp; Gautampuri; Lal Kuan, D Block JJ Camp, and Indira Kalyan Vihar.
The initiative brings relief to many parents struggling to provide milk to their children amid the lockdown.
Jyoti, a mother of two children , said, “My husband is a daily wage worker and I do domestic work. We have both lost our jobs and have limited cash reserves to take care of our daily needs. The government and relief agencies are providing dry ration kits, but no milk powder or any other nutritional supplements for our children. We, therefore, had to feed our children rice, dal, and water.”
