UNICEF India launches public advocacy campaign

UNICEF India today unveiled the ‘Fair Start’ film as part of a (social) media campaign that will focus on persisting inequities that large groups of children in India face, affecting their survival, growth and development.

A series of impactful films will give an insight into the lives of millions of children from various backgrounds, who are full of potential but less likely to grow up healthy and safe, less likely to attend school , less likely to learn, and more likely to be married as children.

Introducing the film, Caroline Den Dulk, Chief, Advocacy & Communication, UNICEF India said, “Every child deserves a fair start in his/her life and deserves adequate nutrition, education, sanitation, protection and health care.

The campaign draws attention to the lives of many children who are deprived of these basic rights, often at times determined simply by where they are born. Every child should have a fair and equal chance in life, irrespective of their caste, ethnicity, gender, poverty, region or religion.”

UNICEF works closely with the Government of India and many other partners to curb the situation of the most vulnerable and deprived children, ensuring that each child born in this vast and complex country gets the best start in life, thrives and develops to his or her full potential.

Every Child deserves a #FairStart. Currently, 6.1 million children in India are out- of –school; around 10 million children are engaged in work in India; close to 3500 children die every day before reaching age 5; 42 per cent of tribal children in India are stunted in their growth and development; and almost half the population of India, about 564 million people still practice open defecation.

Girls in India deserve an equal chance in life too, but on an average 2.22 million girls marry early every year in India, and 23% girls between 15-19 years of age experience physical or sexual violence. “Often the issues faced are immensely complex in nature and cut across all layers of society”, said Den Dulk. “To make change happen a mind-shift is required.

The Fair Start campaign aims at engaging the larger public in a debate and for everyone to see they have a role to play to make sure every child can have a fair chance in life.” The ‘Fair Start’ films were produced with the participation of a group of children who brought their own daily reality to the film set.

“The #FairStart campaign was quite a remarkable and prestigious project to work on for me, as well as the entire team. at Avant Garde Films. The most memorable thing was working with such wonderful kids from ‘Bigger Than Life’ NGO.

They played cast and crew really well. For me, and I am sure for everyone who was a part of this project, it would be the most memorable experience and will be close to our hearts forever” – Abhishek De, Avant Garde Films.