Anil Agarwal Foundation (AAF) addresses the pressing issues of hunger and malnutrition in its latest campaign. Beginning with a personal note from the Chairman, Anil Agarwal, the multi-media campaign will include video and digital assets as well. The campaign in the month of September also observed as the National Nutrition Month or ‘Poshan Maah’, features the tagline ‘Agar Bachpan Se Puchha Khaana Khaya Toh Desh Ka Kal Banaya’.
Commenting on the campaign launch, Priya Agarwal Hebbar, Director, Vedanta Limited and Chairperson, Hindustan Zinc Ltd., said, “Malnourishment is an issue that is extremely close to our hearts, stemming from my father’s personal journey and experience of hunger in his childhood. Today, as a group, our vision is that no child should go to bed hungry. The launch of this campaign marks the beginning of a movement that will harness the power of communities as we together combat malnourishment. Our Nand Ghars also focus on the dream that every child has the potential to be a leader and take India to new heights. Through our Nand Ghars, we want to give every child the opportunity she/he deserves. This campaign is another step in this direction.”
The campaign is designed and executed by McCann Erickson, India. With the campaign, the AAF has also revealed its new logo.
Sharing his thoughts on the campaign, Prasoon Joshi, CEO & CCO at McCann Worldgroup India and Chairman, Asia Pacific said, “When campaigns are born out of true-life experiences, they are authentic and strike a genuine chord with people. This is one such campaign which genuinely reflects a felt truth and a true connect. It also tries to shake one out of inertia and move society towards positive action.”
Project Nand Ghar is a collaboration between Vedanta and the Government of India and is contributing to eliminating hunger and malnutrition across the country. It aims to develop and modernise over 29,000 Anganwadis across the country. It has already developed 5,500 Anganwadis into Nand Ghars so far. Aligned with the Government of India’s Poshan Abhiyaan and this year’s Poshan Maah theme of ‘Suposhit Bharat, Sakshar Bharat, Sashakt Bharat’, Nand Ghar has become a true personification of its vision to support health, education, and empowerment along with addressing nutritional needs of all beneficiaries.
Nutrition forms one of the core focus areas of the Nand Ghar initiative and the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) has extended its support to AAF by providing technical advice in public health nutrition activities carried out by the Foundation. Nutrition is also central to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 2 of Zero Hunger. The project has been successful in reducing malnourishment among preschool children and include almost 20 per cent fewer children in Severely Acute Malnourished (SAM) & Moderately Acute Malnourished (MAM) categories as compared to the national average.
Earlier this year, AAF launched a one-of-its-kind pilot nutrition initiative for preschool children to provide multi-millet nutri bars across Anganwadis including Nand Ghars. These bars that have been endorsed by Nutrihub, ICAR-IIMR (Indian Institute of Millets Research) and are rich in protein, fiber, and antioxidants have not only improved the daily nutrient intake of children, but also boosted cognitive development, and reduced absenteeism in Anganwadis. As an outcome of the pilot project, there has been an increase of almost 20 per cent in average attendance of children at Anganwadis.