Author: Smile Team

This year’s World Health Day stresses on the need to protect people and the environment that they are part of.

The World Health Day is celebrated on April 7 every year to kindle hope for the world, to reimagine a world where clean air, water and food are available to all, where economies are focused on health and well-being, where cities are livable, and people have control over their health and the health of the planet. With the theme ‘Our Planet, Our Health’, World Health Day 2022 is aimed at attracting global attention towards the well-being of our planet and the humans living on it.

In the run up to World Health Day, WHO released a new air quality database that shows that around 2,000 more cities/human settlements are now recording ground monitoring data for particulate matter, PM 10 and/or PM 2.5 . Almost the entire global population (99%) is breathing air that exceeds WHO air quality limits and is threatening their health. A record number of over 6,000 cities in 117 countries are now monitoring air quality, but the people living in them are still breathing unhealthy levels of fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide, with people in low and middle-income countries suffering the highest exposures.

Estimates show that more than 13 million deaths around the world each year are due to avoidable environmental factors. This includes the climate crisis which is the single biggest health threat facing humanity. The climate crisis is also a health crisis.

Apart from human-induced climate hazards, scientists are wary of future pandemics that might strike, and brace for them, two years since the deadly coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic struck us. Covid-19 is not the last pandemic, and the next one is imminent, unless we come together to prevent it.

Scientists and epidemiologists have pointed out the link between animals and humans for transmission of infectious diseases. A research paper published in Nature suggests that approximately three-quarters of emerging infectious diseases in humans have an animal origin.

Covid-19 and some of the other deadliest disease outbreaks around the world in modern times, including the Swine Flu pandemic of 2009, West African Ebola pandemic between 2014 and 2016, Zika virus outbreak and the Nipah virus, have shown the need for concerted efforts to be battle-ready and tackle future pandemics that are yet to come.

In the early 2000s there came a concept ‘One Health’ that recognizes the interconnections and health interdependencies among humans, animals, and the shared environments in which we live and interact. With the changing risks of global spread, the timeliness of early detection is emerging as a prerequisite in our ability to detect outbreaks at the stage when they can still be contained.

An estimate by the Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying shows that an annual investment of approximately $22-$31 billion, globally, would strengthen animal sector systems, enough to prevent pandemics like coronavirus, saving trillions of dollars.

Preventing diseases from spreading – from wildlife to livestock, and eventually to humans is critical. Also, early detection and control of these diseases in livestock, could prevent human pandemics and mitigate the devastating consequences of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). This requires the adoption of a One Health approach for disease prevention.

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic over the past two years almost derailed the healthcare infrastructure in many countries, including India. Shortage of oxygen, ventilators and PPE kits virtually throttled the fight against the virus, especially in the stressed phase when the second wave hit the country.

It was, with the support of non-governmental and civil society organizations that India could rebound and stand back on its feet. One such initiative was Smile Foundation’s Health Cannot Wait campaign that solicited long-term investments through donations to strengthen healthcare infrastructure in the country. It supported in setting up oxygen banks for critical patient support among vulnerable communities, mobilization of PPE Kits & N-95 Masks for frontline health workers, distribution of hygiene kits (including masks, soaps, sanitizers, oximeters), tele-counseling to dispel vaccine hesitancy, spread awareness on COVID-appropriate behavior and the provision of primary healthcare services to reduce the load on health infrastructure.

However, there are many other critical diseases that impact public health, especially in a diverse country like India. Several stakeholders and organizations, including global non-profit Malaria No More, are working towards addressing diseases like Malaria that have an impact while acknowledging that there are several barriers in addressing vector borne diseases. India is now in the last leg of achieving its Malaria elimination goals and is in major need of participation from the public and private sector, along with corporation from the public.

In fact, the World Health Assembly had in May 2015 adopted Global Technical Strategy for Malaria and set the ambitious new target of reducing the global malaria burden by 90% by 2030 by scaling up malaria responses and moving towards elimination.

Stakeholders engaged in India’s fight against malaria have shown that community action is helping countries achieve their malaria elimination goals.

The discussion around health remains incomplete without the fight against HIV and AIDS.

HIV continues to be a major global public health issue, having claimed 36.3 million lives so far. While there is no cure for HIV infection, with increasing access to effective HIV prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and care, including for opportunistic infections, HIV infection has become a manageable chronic health condition, enabling people living with HIV to lead long and healthy lives.

In India, National AIDS Control Organization (Naco) steers HIV and AIDS prevention, treatment, education, sensitization, and control programs.

Safe Zindagi, part of Program Accelerate and funded by USAID and Johns Hopkins University, has been working with the National AIDS Control Organization (Naco) since 2019 to advance progress towards the UNAIDS 95-95-95 goals to achieve epidemic control in India. Programs like Accelerate assist Naco in addressing gaps in programming and outreach among at-risk populations, including People Living with HIV (PLHIV) and four key population groups — female sex workers, men who have sex with men, transgender persons, and people who inject drugs.

There are organizations that are coming forward to bridge India’s healthcare gap for marginalized communities. One such facility is ‘Mitr Clinic’, India’s first-ever clinic that works exclusively for the

transgender community and is run by them. Started by Project Accelerate, a programme raising awareness on HIV and AIDS, Mitr Clinics support and address the needs and issues of members of the transgender community by engaging in conversations and activities built on faith and trust. No healthcare mechanism is complete without the focus on child health and nutrition. But the government along with various civil society organizations are working tirelessly towards strengthening child healthcare in India. So far, Smile Foundation has provided over 27.7 million meals to more than 200,000 families in 23 states of India. It aims to provide three square meals to more than 250,000 families and is working to provide 50,000 home isolation kits to Covid patients.

State governments are conducting some interesting health programs to push for improved health outcomes. States like Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh are working towards this in a concerted manner. The government of Madhya Pradesh runs a bouquet of integrated health schemes such as the Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram, and the Navjat Shishu Suraksha Karyakram, apart from the Ladli Lakshmi Yojana which seek to provide end-to-end support to improve health and wellbeing of citizens.

What we now need, is greater integration of efforts to bring this all together towards the achievement of the national goal of health outcomes that are better than those in the developing world, so we can then aim to better these further.

The World Health Day is being celebrated on April 7, the day the World Health Organisation (WHO) was formed in 1948. The WHO is focusing on “global attention on urgent actions needed to keep humans and the planet healthy and foster a movement to create societies focused on well-being.” Aptly, the theme for 2022 is ‘Our Planet, Our Health’.

Source : https://health.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/post-pandemic-for-a-happier-planet-and-healthier-people/90692215

New Delhi, Apr 16 (PTI) Films from Germany, Iran, Argentina, Cuba and Italy will be screened at the eighth edition of the Smile International Film Festival for Children and Youth (SIFFCY).

Organised by Delhi-based NGO Smile Foundation, the festival will be held virtually this year from April 24 to 30 and screen 100 films from more than 50 countries.

According to the organisers, the festival will feature a special curation of five Hindi and regional feature films produced by the Children’s Film Society as well as 10 films from Germany, made in collaboration with Schlingel, Chemnitz, and five Iranian films made in collaboration with the Center for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults: Kanoon, Iran.

Filmmaker Rima Das’ “Village Rockstars”, which was India’s official entry for 2019 Oscars, will be screened as part of the Extra Smiles – Best of SIFFCY segment.

Priyanka Chopra’s 2018 production “Pahuna – The Little Visitors” and “Chuskit”, a film directed by Priya Ramasubban, also feature in the segment along with films like “The Flying Trunk” and “Famous in Ahmedabad”.

“SIFFCY aims to provide healthy entertainment to children. It supports good cinema for the benefit of children and youth. We are glad to have nurtured such a platform to bring quality films from across the globe. Good cinema for children and youth must be encouraged so that this medium can help us build an empathetic society and a better planet,” Santanu Mishra, Chairman, SIFFCY, and Executive Trustee, Smile Foundation, said in a statement.

Festival director Jitendra Mishra said the new edition of the film gala will “expose young minds to high quality cinema from across the world”.

“It will shed light upon the way the world approaches cinema and films in general,” he added.

Films screenings at SIFFCY 2022 have been divided into six categories –International Competition (Feature Films), International Competition (Shorts/documentaries), Extra Smile: Best of SIFFCY, 70 MM Smile : World Panorama, The Yellow Carpet: Indian Panorama, Next Gen: Films Made by Film Students, and Take One: Films Made by Children. PTI RB RB RB

This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.

A pioneer in applying successful management practices in the social sector, Mr. Santanu Mishra, Co-Founder and Executive Trustee of Smile Foundation, was awarded with the Business World Social Impact Leader Award.

His contribution can also be described as a convergence of good governance, championing entrepreneurial spirit at the grassroots, leveraging emerging technologies, encouraging innovation, creating a high impact model, and imbibing the philosophy of real work and real change.

Mr. Mishra received the honor at the inaugural edition of the BW Disrupt Social Impact Summit & Awards 2022.

A management and legal consultant by profession, a company secretary by qualification, and an entrepreneur by passion, Mr. Santanu Mishra is also an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. Born and brought up in Sambalpur, Odisha, he made his way up in the corporate sector before dedicating himself fulltime and voluntarily into nurturing Smile Foundation which he had founded along with a group of friends two decades ago.

His single-minded effort has made Smile Foundation impacting lives of 1.5 million children and their families directly across 26 states of India, every year through life-cycle approach of development.

Amalgamation of a high impact development model with the performance driven corporate world, fuelled by the selfless passion of social entrepreneurs and exemplary community connect at the grassroots have been the hallmarks of Smile Foundation.

Smile Foundation, the organization he nurtured, is known for evolving and applying various path-breaking models in the sector such as Civic Driven Change, Social Venture Philanthropy, Sensitization of Privileged Children, use of art in driving change etc. He is the producer of the path-breaking feature film I Am Kalam. Mr. Mishra is also the chairman of Smile International Film Festival for Children & Youth.

Mr. Santanu Mishra dedicated the Business World Social Impact Leader Award to the 2600 people of Smile Foundation who work relentlessly on the ground round the year.

“The award will act as a motivation for me and an encouragement for our people in the endeavor to create meaningful impact in the lives of children and their families. Active participation of the civil society is imperative in the mission to create an equitable future for our children, besides building an empathetic society and a happier planet,” said Mr. Santanu Mishra.

The BW Social Impact Summit and Awards 2022 hosted social welfare professionals and organizations in the domains of education, health, women empowerment, and sustainable development.

The jury for the award comprises of industry luminaries such as former NASSCOM President Dr. Kiran Karnik, BW group editorial director Noor Fathima Warsia, Air Marshal Naresh Verma, AVSM VSM (Retd); Chairman 5F World Dr. Ganesh Natarajan, Founder Crux Management Dr. Vikas Singh, BW Chairman & Editor-in-Chief Dr. Anurag Batra, among others.

Sadhguru, founder Isha Foundation, Kunal Kapoor, actor & founder Ketto, Shekhar Mehta, President Rotary International, Atul Satija, founder & CEO the Nudge Institute, Shridhar Venkat, CEO the Akshaya Patra Foundation, Mathew Cherian, Chairperson Care India were among the speakers during the summit & awards, which also included Mr. Santanu Mishra.

This year, Smile Foundation handled close to Rs 100 crore of budget involving welfare projects spread across 25 states of India

Source : https://www.businessworld.in/article/Education-For-A-Long-Lasting-Change/29-04-2022-426935/

New Delhi: Smile Foundation’s extensive and multi-pronged effort during the coronavirus pandemic in India was recognized as the COVID Management Initiative of the Year at the Healthcare Asia Awards 2022. The Foundation received this prestigious recognition for COVID-impact mitigation, healthcare service delivery and relief work it did over the past two years. Smile Foundation was the only non-profit organization among healthcare organizations, hospitals and institutions from across the globe to be awarded at the prestigious Healthcare Asia Awards under various categories.

Smile Foundation, through its Health Cannot Wait initiative, reached out to the nook and corner of the country and provided doorstep delivery of healthcare services through mobile healthcare and telemedicine mechanism, tele-counseling and awareness services, providing urgent necessities like PPE kits to health workers, strengthening the existing public health infrastructure through supply of oxygen and medicines, reducing the load of primary healthcare facilities, providing hygiene kits to masses, and spreading awareness to contain the spread of the virus. The initiative covered 14 states of India and reached out to over a million beneficiaries across India.

“We are honoured and humbled to receive such an encouragement in the form this prestigious award. The pandemic has been a monumental public health challenge. During the peak of the infections, as the situation worsened with every passing day, the need of the hour was to complement the government and public effort, and support the most vulnerable people. The accolade belongs to our entire team who turned Covid warriors displaying commendable resilience and selflessness,” said Mr. Santanu Mishra, Co-Founder and Executive Trustee, Smile Foundation.

As the world begins recovering from COVID-19, the healthcare sector has proved its resilience by manifesting ability to overcome challenges and continue serving the most vulnerable sections of society. Healthcare providers have innovated to devise breakthrough products, initiatives, and robust COVID management frameworks. Swift incorporation of these breakthroughs in day-to-day operations is helping manage crises and provide quality healthcare to patients.

The Healthcare Asia Awards 2022 recognized entities that have risen above the challenges caused by the pandemic and innovated to better serve customers. This year’s nominations were chosen by an elite panel of judges consisting of Chris Hardesty, Pureland Venture Partners; Partha Basumatary, EY-Parthenon Director, Life Sciences & Healthcare, Strategy Lead; and Sarah Butler, PwC Global Health Service Leader.

New Delhi: Smile Foundation, under its Project Manzil initiative, has now provided employability training to around 14,000 young girls and enabled on-the-job training of another 5,000 girls to secure their future. The Foundation has encouraged the girls by enrolling them in vocational education courses.

Manzil’s girl-centered initiatives (both in-school and out-of-school) based on skills, information, stakeholder engagement aid significantly in addressing the socio-economic constraints that contribute to early marriage. For instance, evidence shows that adolescent girls with employability skills and prospects of employment are less likely to marry early. Economic empowerment of women also helps girls exercise more influence within the household and on issues like age of marriage.

Project Manzil is a five-year project funded by Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) and is implemented by IPE Global. The in-school component of training is implemented by Smile Foundation. This initiative aims to increase retention of girls in schools and ensure effective transition from school to higher studies and/or work by making available training in vocational skills in schools, along with apprenticeships and jobs for out of school adolescent girls (15-19 years).

Forging demonstrable and fast-paced progress towards the attainment of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development goals is the holy grail of policymakers and has occupied significant mind space and bandwidth.

Recent indicators, however, do not paint a rosy picture. India has slipped three spots from 117 in 2021 to rank 120 this year on achieving the 17 sustainable development goals, as per the Centre for Science and Environment’s State of India’s Environment Report, 2022. The report states India, with a score of 66, is now behind all South Asian countries except Pakistan. Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bangladesh all enjoy a lead over India in the attainment of sustainable development goals.

We must therefore reassess the way we are progressing in this regard. Adopted in 2015 by 192 United Nations member-countries as part of the 2030 agenda, the 17 sustainable development goals serve as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity. The goals are integrated as action in one area will affect outcomes in others. They call for ending poverty by improving health and education, reducing inequality by spurring economic growth – all while tackling climate change by protecting the environment.

India has attacked poverty through a mix of social sector schemes to promote the health and wellbeing of citizens. Schemes like Ayushman Bharat, Jan Dhan Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan, and Beti Bachao Beti Padhao are all playing a role in driving inclusive development. Even state governments are making important interventions.

Earlier this month, Madhya Pradesh launched a government program – Ladli Lakshmi 2.0 where the state pays the fee of girls who pursue medical education, or study at IITs and IIMs. Girls passing class 12th and pursuing college education will receive INR 25,000. The Ladli Lakshmi Yojana has been in force over the past 15 years, and the state government bears the cost of raising the girl child till marriage. Every year, the state celebrates Ladli Lakshmi Utsav from May 2 to May 12. Similarly, civil society organizations are making concerted efforts to enable sustainable development by driving access to health and education. I would cite the example of Smile Foundation which runs Shiksha Na Ruke program benefiting 50,000 children across 22 states, while its Health Cannot Wait campaign mobilizes resources for Covid relief and providing other healthcare services across the country.

But there is considerable ground to be covered and reassessment could help. The World Bank estimates India has 100-150 million households living below USD 1.90 consumption per day per person. And the pandemic would have increased the number of ultra-poor households in the country.

Way Ahead

What is needed is a clutch of targeted, high-impact interventions that can make population-scale impact, fast. Technology holds answers. India has built robust public data stacks on education, health, citizen enumeration, mobile phone penetration and bank account ownership. Innovation using these digital stacks can help us design scalable interventions to deliver impact quickly.

Our country is large, diverse, and complex – topographically, climatically, culturally, and population-wise. This is the reason organizations often find it challenging to implement even carefully drafted interventions. This is where we require government, industry, and NGOs to combine forces for positive change. Each of these stakeholders has unique strengths that, when brought together, can make a profound difference.

While the government brings scale of operations, corporate India has monetary muscle, organizational might, and planning skills to design effective public interventions. The civil society brings with it on-ground connect and experience of implementing public welfare initiatives. They have the networks and enjoy the trust of people which helps them implement efficiently to deliver impact.

Make no mistake, India requires urgent population scale change for poverty alleviation by rapidly improving access to livelihood, education, healthcare, and nutrition. For this to happen, the key stakeholders – governments, corporate India and civil society organizations must bridge the trust deficit and work in close coordination to improve the effectiveness of public welfare initiatives and pull people out of poverty faster and sustainably.

Bringing Children and Youth Cinema News: Movies are the most impactful art form and are available everywhere. They use a language that can be understood even by children due to which it becomes easy to engage and educate them through the same. Film Festivals help to strengthen and sustain democracy, peace, and liberty. They provide a platform for children and youth to learn and gather an understanding of various cultures and experiences through films.

It also provides an opportunity for the filmmakers to exchange ideas and foster creativity through their work by creating a welcoming and non – competitive for all the guests and audience. Children’s brains and activities are profoundly influenced by films and stories. It can expose societal problems such as human trafficking, domestic abuse, corruption, poverty, social exclusion, and other discriminatory behaviours. Movies and performers have influenced people’s thoughts and actions; they are vehicles for establishing new trends that have a direct impact on people’s social life.

Film Festival for Children and Youth is launched to educate and inspire children through the medium of films. Films frequently provide a framework for youngsters to comprehend the world around them. The messages are often hidden, but they are always present. Children can be influenced by cinema in terms of emotional stimulation, empathy, and good social conduct. In many cases, movies serve as an educational enhancement to course material and, in other situations, can give instructional value from a greater perspective. Filmmakers can influence the thoughts of youngsters.

Many films have significant life lessons. Science-fiction films can educate children. When they can visualize something, it’s easier to learn how it works, and practical visualization helps them remember what they need to. As a result, if children are having problems understanding a concept, they can watch a movie that explains it implicitly or clearly. Most significantly, cinema exposes children to many cultures.

It introduces them to numerous art forms and encourages them to learn about different people’s lifestyles. Children can learn empathy through movies because they can feel and live the feelings of characters indirectly through the screen. Based on particular research, viewing selfless and prosocial behaviour in a movie can inspire children to emulate these behaviours in their own life.

“Children are an integral part of the society because the future of it depends on how children look at it today. Children as lead characters drive a higher impact. Empathy can be inculcated deeply through films that portray children as lead characters and protagonists. Children’s films are unique as they can create a connection with a large audience and effect an impact that has far-reaching implications for building society.

SIFFCY 2022, the festival’s 8th edition, with more than 100 films from above 50 different countries helped highlight themes of mental health, poverty, education, and many other societal issues with children at the core. They had originated from so many different countries, mostly made during the pandemic and encompassed children’s perspective – both towards problems and hope.” said Santanu Mishra, Co-Founder and Executive Trustee, Smile Foundation.

The future of society is shaped by children and youth. Many films have plots that encourage youth to get up every morning and face the world with optimism and hope. They inspire the audience to overcome personal challenges and make a good difference in the lives of others. Films about famous people are an excellent approach to positively influencing societal behaviour. They are solely a reflection of society. As a result, it enables the children in confronting the reality of what is occurring in our society. It depicts reality and helps the youth be aware awareness of situations that may have been overlooked in the past.

World Nutrition Day 2022: Being poor limits the accessibility to enough food and due to undernutrition, children and adults cannot attain good health and holistic wellbeing.

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/lifestyle/health/worlds-biggest-socio-economic-risk-ignoring-nutrition-s-role-in-achieving-un-sustainable-development-goals-101653662155832.html