Media plays an instrumental role in supporting and enriching the quality discourse on public health and hence increasing the acceptance of critical health initiatives. Radio, in particular, has emerged as a powerful medium as it caters to an audience which may not be literate or have access to television to be informed.
Bearing in mind the critical role of radio in reaching out to people and in shaping their decision-making process, UNICEF is actively involved in organizing capacity building workshops for radio professionals, both from Private FM and All India Radio, since 2014.
UNICEF and the Association of Radio Operators of India (AROI) recently organized two events in New Delhi that focused on “The International Day of Girls Child and The Power of Sports” held on October 11, 2017, and another on “Child Survival Through Routine Immunization” held on October 12, 2017
Key Radio journalists and Influencers were invited for a roundtable discussion with participants on ways to meaningfully focus on immunization and the girl child on the equity-focused medium of radio.
New Delhi, Wednesday, October 11, 2017,: A roundtable discussion with key radio journalists and influencers was organized on the crucial subject of Immunization in addition to the emphasis on gender perspective on the radio, at UNICEF India.
Event was attended by some famous personalities that included Sachin Tendulkar ( former Indian Cricketer ), Mithali Raj ( Captain of India Women Cricket Team ), Raspreet Sindhu ( Basketball National Champion ), Mana Madlekar ( Black Belt Champion ), Ragini Rao Sharma, Rajni Jha ( Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Ambassador & Gold medalist in Para-Swimming Championship). This was also aired 91.1 FM hosted by RJ Payal
At the event, they shared their Views and stories to encourage and inspire Girl child through the power of sports. Sachin Tendulkar said, Every girl child in the world should chase her dreams. Mithali Raj shared her message for encouraging girl child by saying A fair platform should be given to girls as they also have flexible talent and abilities. Adding to this, she said, We should never judge anyone by his or her gender. There should be equality.
New Delhi,Thursday, October 12, 2017,: UNICEF India, and the AROI held a roundtable discussion that focused on child survival through ‘Routine Immunization’ (RI). UNICEF India is working extensively with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to support the immunization programme in the country and ensure that every child is protected against vaccine-preventable diseases.
Media and Radio journalist was also invited to share their message with their audience and create awareness about RI. A contest was also aired on 91.1 FM channel by RJ Payal, in which she asked a question to the audience -“What is 5 years, 7 times?” A girl named Swati won this. She answered this question by saying “It means that from the time of its birth, a baby must be given vaccines 7 times in 5 years.”