Amway India Launches the 'Power of 5' Campaign to Address Childhood Malnutrition in India

NEW DELHI, December 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

• Globally, the 'Power of 5'* has been benefiting over 1 lakh children in around 23 countries every year
• In India, Amway aims to educate mothers to positively impact around 10,000 children below 5 years during the campaign's pilot year
• Amway has partnered with MAMTA Health Institute for Mother and Child to educate mothers and caregivers on the significance of nutrition during the most crucial first 5 years in children

Amway India, the country's largest FMCG direct selling company, today launched the 'Power of 5' campaign to address the rising problem of malnutrition among children in India. In line with Amway's vision of helping people live better lives, the Power of 5 is a community-based campaign targeted at mothers and caregivers of children under the age of 5 years. The campaign aims to improve the nutritional knowledge and practices inclusive of complementary feeding, hygiene practices, growth monitoring and dietary diversity. The campaign further aims to identify and manage the malnourished children, and those with infections, by developing synergies among the service providers of associated departments (Integrated Child Development Scheme, Health and Sanitation) for improved services and timely referrals.

Launch Event photograph: https://we.tl/t-BeAn6WXtiv

Picture Caption : (L to R) Mr. Sundip Shah, Chief marketing officer, Amway India| Ms. Usha Kundu, ACP CAW, Gurugram Police | Dr. Sunil Mehra Executive Director, MAMTA Health Institute

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), roughly 7 million children under the age of 5 die each year from preventable causes across the globe. Malnutrition is the underlying cause of 45% of these deaths according to the WHO. In India, malnutrition among children is a major concern too, belying nation's increasing economic achievement. According to a recent report by the World Bank, approximately 8 million Indian children suffer from Severe Acute Malnutrition (very low weight to height ratio). According to the National Health Family Survey, 36% children in India below the age of 5 years are under-weight. The report further states that 38% are stunted, 21% are wasted, 7.5% are severely wasted, and 58% are anemic**.

Speaking about the launch of this program, Mr. Anshu Budhraja, CEO, Amway India, said, "At Amway India, we are committed to use our vast global experience in nutrition and wellness to contribute to the Government of India's National Nutrition Mission to raise the nutrition levels in the country. From our experience, we understand that the foundation for a healthy development and overall well-being starts with optimal nutrition in the first 5 years of life. With the launch of the Power of 5 campaign, our aim is to raise awareness on the issue of childhood malnutrition and bring in the much-needed behavioral shift in mothers and communities at large. This program has been very successful globally - benefitting over a lakh children across more than 23 countries every year. We are pleased to launch this initiative in India and hope to make a positive impact in the lives of as many children and families as possible." 

Mr. Sundip Shah, Chief Marketing Officer, Amway India, said, "The first 5 years in a child's life are particularly important for the overall development and hence, appropriate intake of healthy and nutritious diet is crucial. The current situation of low nutrition levels among children up to 5 years is acute in India with around 8 million children suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition, as per the statistics released by World Bank report 'India's Malnourished Children: Call for Reform & Action'. The rate of mortality with severe malnutrition among children up to 5 years is over 20% and the key contributors include inappropriate feeding practices, inadequate food intake, recurrent infections. Such issues can be addressed with proper education and guidance. With the launch of Power of 5 campaign in India, we aim to reach out to children under 5, their mothers and communities at large to educate them on how best to make use of their resources to ensure nutritional wellbeing of the children. To be adequately nourished, it is important that mothers understand what constitutes a good diet, as well as have the skills to make good food choices for the children. The Power of 5 initiative is aimed at providing this much-needed awareness to the mothers and communities to contribute to the healthy growth of children."   

The campaign aims to mobilize communities to encourage participation and to empower individuals by raising awareness of the services and entitlements among beneficiaries. Additionally, ASHA workers, ANM & Anganwadi workers will be sensitized to drive the behavior change among the parents and communities to establish synergies for timely inclusive service deliveries to the identified target beneficiaries. With MAMTA Health Institute for Mother and Child as its implementing partner, Amway will reach out to and benefit around 10,000 children directly through mothers and 30,000 individuals indirectly (parents, caregivers and community members) in West Delhi's Kirari area in the first pilot year.

Commenting on the partnership with Amway, Dr. Sunil Mehra, Executive Director, MAMTA Health Institute for Mother and Child, said, "There are many underprivileged children residing in this area who face health problems that can otherwise be simply tackled by slight changes in their nutritional intake. The Power of 5 campaign will have a monumental impact on the lives of these children as it seeks to bring about a fundamental change in their daily diet. We are really optimistic about the final outcome of this initiative."

*2017 Global Impact Report 

**Stunting: Low height for age; Wasted & Severely Wasted: Low weight for height; Underweight: Low weight for age. 

About Amway India CSR initiatives

• Amway India's CSR initiatives are based on the belief that social responsibility is much more than the incurrence of a cost or a resource or a charitable/ philanthropic act of social benefit. It is an opportunity to bring in social innovation and change. This belief is articulated in Amway's vision of helping people live better lives. When it comes to commitment to corporate citizenship, Amway India makes a serious and concentrated effort to reach out and help people improve their lives.
• Amway India supports a comprehensive CSR programme covering a gamut of initiatives including a water conservation project to improve the ground water level in 7 villages in the Dindigul district located around the manufacturing plant. Amway supports a village health program targeted at 26 villages in the Dindigul district, to provide quality healthcare to the underprivileged. The treatment includes general health check-up, select pathological tests and medicines at zero cost to the beneficiaries. In a span of over 20 months over 240 free health camps have been organised benefitting more than 50,000 people from local communities.
• Amway India set up a telemedicine center in the Dindigul district to ensure a consistent healthcare support to the villagers. This program has eliminated distance barriers and improved access to medical services in distant rural communities. The center aims at providing free medical treatment to over 7,000 patients in a year.
• Last year Amway India launched a Community Health & Entrepreneurship Program in the rural areas of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to offer livelihood training in Entrepreneurship skills and business fundamentals with the objective to promote self-employment among women and to create awareness on affordable health and hygiene practices.
• Recently Amway India has launched the community-based nutrition education program to improve the nutritional status among children (below 5 years) in the select slum areas of West Delhi. The program focuses on prevention, early detection and improved access to care in line with the National Nutrition Mission, Govt. of India.
• As a key focus area, Amway has taken various initiatives to support the cause of visually impaired. Amway also supports underprivileged children in education, health and hygiene under a project titled 'Sunrise'. Under this project, Amway currently supports more than 15 NGOs across the country.
• Amway India has been conferred with the 'CSR Leadership Summit & Award' in the category of 'Promoting Employment for Specially-abled'.
• Amway India was also recently awarded with the 'Best Corporate' award in the 'Specially-abled' category at the prestigious National CSR Summit & Awards 2018 for its invaluable contribution towards the welfare of visually impaired by CSR Times.

Media Contact:
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