Improving the health and nutrition of a community often comes down to one thing – communication. Village Square champions those with the most effective megaphones, but also showcases new or quirky trends in food and healthy living.
Health & Wellbeing
“8 billion people, 8 billion opportunities”
World’s population is expected to reach 8 billion in 2022. What does it mean for the world and India in particular? For World Population Day observed on July 11, Village Square spoke to Deepesh Gupta, the State Head of Office of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Rajasthan, to better understand various issues concerning equitable growth and family planning in India.
A peek into rural India’s plastic waste
Government of India’s strict ban on the use of ‘single-use plastic’ comes into effect on 1 July, 2022. The notification permits jail term of up to five years, or a penalty of up to Rs 1 lakh, or both, for violators. As this ban is imposed, we asked our growing photo community to show us how plastic waste affects rural India. The photos show the prevalence of plastic waste and the toxic ways in which it affects everyone - humans and animals alike - in the rural ecosystem.
Uninhibited menstruation talk on “Hello Saathi” helpline
Want to have an uninhibited talk about menstruation? Try the “Hello Saathi” helpline, a game-changing scheme from the menstrual health group Uninhibited helping 150,000 people in less than two years, as two of its practitioners report.
Distant dream of sex reassignment surgery
With government hospitals lacking mandated hormonal therapy and counselling facilities for transgenders and private hospitals super expensive, sex reassignment surgery is beyond the reach of transgenders.
The exploitative tale behind your morning brew
Smiling tea leaf pluckers on tea packs and advertisements paint an idyllic picture of lush green tea estates, but it’s often a tale of exploitation and lack of essential healthcare.
Leech therapy – alive and sucking in Kashmir
Despite being long abandoned as a medical cure by modern science, many people in the Kashmir Valley still let leeches suck their blood in hopes of curing everything from swollen joints and headaches to frostbite and acne.
Rural theatre acts out vaccine hesitancy
Setting the stage to bust myths around vaccine hesitancy, tribal dance and theatre productions manage to convert the unvaccinated in Rajasthan, proving the power of tailor-made messaging.
Trafficked once, youth pedal to stop child exploitation
Once forced into child labour, young Biharis cycle across villages to create awareness about the horrors of child trafficking, as financial needs force families to send their children away on false promises of better livelihoods.
Hot iron branding of babies fizzles out
In a unique approach, healthcare workers in rural Odisha engaged traditional healers – who once branded newborn babies with a hot iron to try and cure illnesses – to curb this harmful practice.