Popular Bollywood actress Kajol Devgn met with Honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to discuss the need for handwashing behaviour change and use of handwashing facilities in schools in India. They also discussed work on Water Sanitation and Hygiene behaviour change programme and the ‘Help a Child Reach 5’ handwashing campaign.
Speaking about her association with the campaign, actress Kajol said, “As a mother and an actor, I am proud to be associated with a campaign that stresses on the importance of handwashing behaviour change to prevent needless child deaths. I am delighted that a handwashing indicator has been included in the SDGs. I am inspired by the Government’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan and I believe that ensuring that all schools have presence and use of handwashing facilities in schools will help make hygiene a reality for children across India.“
"He (Modi) has initiated Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan and it coincides with our 'Help A Child Reach 5' initiative, so we thought of meeting and discussing things with him. We are on a same page as our goals are same. We want a hygienic environment. He is the best person to give tips on it. The meeting went well as we discussed lot of interesting stuff. We want the mortality rate of children and people in the society to come down. The Prime Minister, who has been batting for clean environment through Centre's flagship Swachh Bharat campaign, lauded the initiative. He appreciated our work. He understood what we were trying to do. He understood that there is a need to give importance to hand washing to save life of children and people," actress told PTI.
"It was Modi, who gave the campaigners the idea to utilise mass media platform for the advertisements. Through our ad 'Haath Mooh aur Bum, Bimari Hogi Kum', we wanted to bring alive the message of hygiene in a fun and engaging manner. Clean surroundings and following good hygiene are two pre requisites to stay fit and healthy," Kajol added.
