Today the third edition of the UNICEF-AROI Radio 4 Child Awards was organized in the Mumbai with the winners which are selected from 152 entries.
This year, the award honoured RJs for their innovative ideas and thought-provoking programming across two themes – Routine Immunization (Measles Rubella campaign) and End Violence Against Children (Child Sexual Abuse).
The event was graced by Advocate Kareena Kapoor Khan who is a UNICEF Celebrity.
Kareena Khan said: “I am delighted to be associated with the #EveryChildAlive campaign initiated by UNICEF as it is using different and innovative mediums to communicate the importance of immunizing every child from life-threatening diseases. Having had personal experience with the medium of Radio I think it is an excellent channel to educate young families, the youth and marginalized communities on the importance of vaccination. Also as a mother, I understand the importance of Immunization in giving every child a healthy start and I look forward to supporting UNICEF in spreading this important message.”
The awards are a culmination of capacity-building workshops, conducted in 2018, by UNICEF and AROI for over 40 All India Radio and private FM radio professionals to help them integrate meaningfully, appealing radio jingles or talk shows on the critical messages related to vaccination and other child issues.
Dr. Pradeep Haldar, Deputy Commissioner, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare urged the radio fraternity to spread the message of the importance of immunization and help in mitigating any misinformation regarding vaccines.
The Chief of Health UNICEF India, Dr Gagan Gupta, said, “UNICEF remains committed to working with Government, media, communities and partners to reach out to more children with more vaccines and more services. Moving beyond survival to Early Childhood Development and ensuring that the girl child is not left behind should be the next frontier for India.”