Excited children met Raya, the six-year-old Muppet who is also Sesame Workshop’sglobal ambassadorof WASH Up! (Water, Sanitation and Health) – the non-profit’s first global health initiative. 

 

“Raho Swacch, Jiyo Mast” (an Indian adaptation of ‘Cleaner, Healthier, Happier’ – a multi-country campaign) is part of a global health initiative WASH Up! that aims to reduce the mortality rate of children under five years of age, who are susceptible to preventable and treatable diseases, by providing access to sanitation and hygiene education. 

 

The project in India has been generously supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation through PSAs, locally produced live action and studio segments, as well as books, games, and other print materials. 

 

According to 2011 census report ,around 53.1% households do not have any toilet while 49.8% practice open defecation. 41.2% households in West Bengal do not have any toilet while 38.6% practice open defecation. In Kolkata 5.1% of households do not have access to latrine at home while almost 1% practices open defecation causing diseases like diarrhea, which has claimed the lives of many children in Kolkata’s slums. 

 

Diarrhea, the second leading cause of death among children under five globally, is the primary cause of early childhood mortality in India: with 200,000diarrhea deaths in India every year. Other water related diseases, such as typhoid, cholera and jaundice, also contribute to high child mortality. 

 

The “Raho Swachh, Jiyo Mast”campaign’s intervention in Kolkata focused on improving sanitation related behaviour among young children, their caregivers and their communities. The campaign will be further rolled out at scale to cover over 50,000 children and their families from April 2015.