TAKE STEP TO UPROOT HEALTH PROBLEMS AT SLUM

Diya Foundation: Life in slums is tough. A mere glance at their conditions is enough to comprehend the problems being faced by the children living in those conditions where fulfillment of bare minimum necessities also seems arduous. Those little lives have to fight from dusk to dawn in order to survive. In such conditions, the path towards development seems even more distant. There is a dire need to bring about the change by working towards it efficiently.

Majority of children don’t even experience their life beyond the age of five years, for those who cross this age, fall prey to fatal diseases. The major cause of death in these slums is malnutrition, pneumonia, diarrhea which is the outcome of extreme poverty, overcrowding, Unavailability of safe drinking water, proper sanitation, substandard housing and lack of education. Parents of these slum children being illiterate, have scarce knowledge of necessity of education as well as basic steps that need to be taken in terms of health to safeguard the life of their children.

Diarrhea, oral epidemics, parasitic infestation are some of the diseases which are caused due to lack of basic facilities such as sanitation and restrooms. In India, thousands of children die every day because of diarrhea. Even the diseases that could be prevented through vaccination are becoming the cause of death. All this is due to lack of knowledge and free medical benefits being out of reach for them.

Understanding and addressing child health in slum is an important priority for educated civilians and those committed to child health worldwide. Investment in child health structure is required at individual level to uproot these health issues. Bringing awareness about the social health campaigns being run by several organizations such as Diya foundation, in collaboration with the ‘Care and Concern’ team and many more could put some positive contribution in eradicating this darkness from the lives of slum dwellers.