“National Shame”:An Adivasi woman holds her one-month-old malnourished baby in a tea garden in Assam
Actor Aamir Khan, who has been earning accolades for highlighting social issues through his television programmeSatyamev Jayate, will soon be seen spreading awareness about the problem of malnutrition as part of a major publicity campaign by the government.
“The Women and Child Development [WCD] Ministry has planned a major information, education and communication or IEC campaign against malnutrition with the pro bono services of the actor. The campaign will be ready in a month or two,” a senior Ministry official said.
The campaign involving Aamir will comprise audio-visual and print media along with SMSes. Officials said the publicity campaign is currently under production stage and will be rolled out in three stages. “There are people in the country who are not even aware of what constitutes malnutrition, so in the first stage Aamir will be seen explaining and introducing the concept,” the senior official said.
“As the campaign moves ahead, in the second and third stage the actor will convey specific messages as to what the public can do to prevent and remove the problem of malnutrition,” he added.
The official added that while Aamir was offering his services without any charge, the UNICEF was also providing assistance to the Ministry in meeting the production-related charges.
Aamir's association with the WCD Ministry's malnutrition programme dates back to a couple of years when he had met the then Minister Krishna Tirath and had agreed to become a part of the campaign.
Nutrition has been one of the priority areas for the WCD Ministry especially after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called the prevalence of high levels of malnutrition a matter of “national shame”. – PTI
Source: The Hindu?
