DCPCR joins hands with NGO to distribute milk to underprivileged children amidst coronavirus lockdown

The poor may be getting free ration and food at distribution centres but a large number of children in the families belonging to vulnerable sections are not getting milk. Activists are afraid that this could lead to malnutrition.

With several losing their daily wages, families are also not in a position to buy milk or nutritional supplement for their children.

Now, the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) and an NGO Centre for Advocacy and Research (CFAR) have joined hands to distribute milk to children below six years of age from underprivileged families in Delhi. A little over 1,000 households, in the areas where CFAR works, in the national capital have benefited from this.

Jyoti, a mother, said, "my husband is a daily wage worker and I do domestic work. We have both lost our jobs and have limited cash to take care of our daily needs. The government and other relief agencies are providing dry ration kits but no milk powder or any other nutritional supplement for our children. We therefore have to feed our children rice and daal water."

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DCPCR member Ranjana Prasad said the Commission was working with a number of private companies who were providing supplies such as biscuits, milk and nutrition supplements for distribution among poor children. “We are happy that children’s needs for milk can be met through our efforts,” she said.

CFAR Senior Programme Specialist Juhi Jain said. " we had assessed that children below six years had been going without milk, which would have posed a grave risk to their health had the situation continued.”

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The assessment found that since the nationwide lockdown, children from poor families, whose parents neither have cash reserves nor wages to afford the daily supply of milk, had been suffering. This could cause malnutrition and health issues among them, she said.

Jain said the CFAR is working with around 28,135 households in 72 settlements across six districts of Delhi. “Milk as an item needed by children had probably been overlooked by relief agencies until now, but DCPCR immediately used its networks to arrange for milk for children in our project areas,” she said.

Soon after the issue was raised, the DCPCR started a campaign to provide half litre of milk every alternate day for children across Delhi settlements. The money for the milk was raised by partners with DCPCR’s support.

CFAR enlisted the children, identified vendors, facilitated meetings between DCPCR Rapid Action team and point persons (who introduced the families) and ensuring distribution of packets to enlisted households, Jain said.