~
MPs and Journalists slug it out in 22-yards
to support child health ~
~ Parliamentarians
register
thumping
victory over
journalists to win first Batting 4 Life title ~
~ Anurag Thakur receives
Man of the Match trophy from Mohd. Kaif ~
Members of Parliament and journalists faced off at the third edition of the "Batting 4 Life" Twenty20 cricket match, dedicated to raising awareness around preventable childhood diseases such as pneumonia and diarrhoea. Organized under the aegis of the recently formed political coalition Political Leaders Coalition for Child and Adolescent Health
(PLCCAH), the event is one of the first steps of the Trust to bring together parliamentarians and journalists to create a positive environment and provide policy direction for addressing issues related to child and adolescent health and raise awareness around cost saving methods of preventing them, such as through immunization. The team of parliamentarians registered their first win against the journalists at Batting 4 Life, by defeating the media 82 runs.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151219/297387 )
Played on a chilly December morning, the game was graced with the presence of Shri Arun Jaitley,
Union Finance Minister; he was joined by his cabinet colleague and Union Minister for Science, Technology and Earth Sciences Dr. Harsh Vardhan.
Talking about the need for the collective effort of parliamentarians, media and the public at large to pledge their support to work in the interest of a healthy India, Shri Arun Jaitley, Union Minister of Finance said, "This is a great initiative in preventive healthcare to increase consciousness in society, to educate people, to make them aware and you've chosen to integrate a popular sport, cricket, as an instrument of creating awareness in this regard. Two of the noisiest communities of India - journalists and politicians - are playing with each other today so that the actual loud voices that are needed in support of health programme reach the right places."
Some of the dignitaries who joined the session to express their support for child survival included former cricketer and BCCI selector Saba Karim, former cricketer Mohd. Kaif, Dr Rakesh Kumar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Dr. Sanjay Jaiswal, Member of Parliament and Managing Trustee, PLCCAH and Shri PD Rai, MP and Member of the Governing Council. While the journalists' team was led by Rahul Kanwal, Executive Editor, India Today Television, players on the MPs side included Babul Supriyo, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Manoj Tiwari, Kamlesh Paswan and Dushyant Singh among others.
"The journalists normally have won, but this year the MPs seem to have started off well. But never underestimate the Indian media. It can always do better than the politicians," Jaitley said on a lighter note.
Dr Harsh Vardhan, Minister of Science, Technology and Earth Sciences said, "This is a very very welcome move, its is certainly very inspirational. It focuses attention on one of the very prime issues in the country, that is, the rights of children and focusing on their health & education. Our country badly needs the attention of the whole society and not just the administration, to make sure that the child's rights are protected. Occasions like this help generate good awakening in the society. It is things like these that take us closer to perfection. Polio eradication in Delhi began with a similar event in 1994 - a cricket match between the media and the MLAs. Anything that strengthens the health movement in the country, ensures that health becomes a social movement, promotes rights of children, and draws attention of the society towards child rights is a welcome move."
As per a recently released report by John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, India tops a list of 15 countries with the highest burden of child deaths due to pneumonia and diarrhoea. While the Indian government has shown commitment to immunize every child in the next five years, the slow rollout of the pentavalent vaccine in high-burden states and low Hib vaccine coverage nationally, coupled with the low levels of access to appropriate pneumonia and diarrhoea treatments are being pegged as the biggest challenges to lowering mortality rates. In September, world leaders adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) which strongly emphasise the need to intensify efforts to address child mortality. The SDGs aim to end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age, with all countries aiming to reduce neonatal mortality to at least as low as 12 per 1,000 live births and under-5 mortality to at least as low as 25 per 1,000 live births by 2030. However, the situation in India is quite grim; with one in every five global child deaths from diarrhoea or pneumonia occurring here, the need for an equitable, comprehensive approach to preventing and treating these diseases is critical.
MATCH SUMMARY
Having won the toss, the MPs' team elected to bat first and put up a solid total of 200 at the loss of 2 wickets for the media team to chase. Openers Dushyant Singh and Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore were off to a good start, scoring a quick 39 runs in the first four overs. The partnership was put to a halt by Uttam Kumar as he got Rathore's wicket at 27 (20 balls), followed by Dushyant Singh (21 in 16 balls) who was caught off a delivery by Mushir. Thereafter, there was no looking back for the parliamentarians with captain Anurag Thakur putting up a fine display of his batting skills and scoring an unbeaten 65 in 36 balls. Thakur along with Babul Supriyo (retd. 43 in 41 balls) put up a partnership of 54 runs before Supriyo declared his innings to return to the pavilion.
The team of journalists got off to a pretty bad start losing the first wicket in the opening over itself and never really made a comeback. With wickets falling at regular intervals, the parliamentarians were able to restrict journalists at 118 with 17 balls to spare. This year, the parliamentarians seemed to be in absolute control right from the beginning, not giving a single opportunity for the opposing team to settle and find ground.
Dr Harsh Vardhan presented the Batting 4 Life trophy to the winning team of the parliamentarians. Anurag Thakur, with his knock of 65 in just 36 balls, was adjudged the Man of the Match and received his trophy from former cricketer Mohd. Kaif.
Receiving the Batting 4 Life trophy from Dr Harsh Vardhan, BCCI Secretary, Member of Parliament and Captain of the
winning
team, Anurag Thakur said, "We pledge ourselves to create more and more awareness in our respective constituencies and states to eradicate all the problems related to child healthcare. In the past, parliamentarians have come together with the media to achieve the target to eradicate polio in this country. Now, parliamentarians and journalists have come together on the field for this noble cause for child health. Not only did we win today, we have managed to win the hearts of all those people who have gathered here to work together for the cause."
Rahul Kanwal, Executive Editor, India Today TV and captain of the media team said, "I must congratulate the MPs team for putting up a great show. It's good to have some competition, glad that MPs XI have upped their game, next year we have something to look forward to. But far more than victory and defeat, the fact that we have gathered here for a cause; a cause where victory is imminent if we all get together to try and raise awareness, as what we are doing here today, about the reasons for children dying at an early age. The reasons can be combatted by the media showcasing on TV stations and their newspapers and by MPs raising their voice in the parliament and reaching out to all the youngsters who have gathered here. That's a battle that can be won."
Saba Karim, Former Cricketer and BCCI Selector said, "I am very happy to be here, it gladdens my heart to see parliamentarians gathered here for a cause for child health and survival. Both the teams have the right message to take forward. Journalists have their own tools, and the medium to spread the cause by spreading the message. It is also our responsibility to be aware of problems affecting child healthcare and work in our own capacity to eradicate diseases affecting child and adolescent health."
Former Cricketer Mohd. Kaif said, "Its good to be here for such a great cause. We should be helping the cause for child health. Being a sportsperson, I know that health is very important for a child; I wouldn't have been able to play for the Indian team if my parents and my coach wouldn't have told me about ways to keep myself healthy. Spreading awareness on child health is very important and the media and MPs will play a great role in doing this. I believe all children deserve a healthy life. By ending diseases, children will truly be able to reach their potential and achieve their dreams."
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Minister of State, Information and Broadcasting, said, "It's a yearly event I think both teams look forward to in a competitive environment with great camaraderie. It is a rare occasion where both media and parliamentarians are working on a similar cause."
Babul Supriyo, Minister of State for Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation said, "It's a great occasion, the game is being played with a lot of positive spirit. Who wins is immaterial, the game of cricket wins. While we celebrate the festival of cricket, which is a religion in our country, it is also very important that we have got together to highlight the importance of child health and how we can stand by children in the smallest of ways. In India, we lack awareness. The game here between MPs and the media will only help in building the awareness."
Dr Sanjay Jaiswal, Managing Trustee of PLCCAH and Member of Parliament said, "In India, roughly 12 lac children die every year before the age of 5. This event is to sensitise our policymakers, our members of parliament, the media and the public on this issue. Largely, child deaths are preventable simply through vaccination, handwashing, ORS and basic immunisation. I am thankful to all the stakeholders for coming together and being part of this initiative."
This is the first time in the history of Indian politics that senior parliamentarians from across political parties have joined hands to come together to form the Political Leaders Coalition for Child and Adolescent Health
(PLCCAH) and work towards a common cause to create long term awareness and build support around child health and survival issues. Nearly 80% of children under five die within one year of birth, which accounts for close to 1 million infant deaths. 58% of these under-five deaths take place within the first one month of life accounting for nearly 700,000 neo-natal deaths every year in the country.
TEAMS
Members of Parliament Journalists
Anurag Thakur (captain) Rahul Kanwal (captain)
Dushyant Singh Vikram Bhadauria
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore Rahul Shriwastwa
Babul Supriyo Manoj Verma
Manoj Tiwari Abhishek Singh
Kamlesh Paswan Vikram Singh
Nishikant Dubey Ramnarayan Shriwastwa
Dushyant Chautala Uttam Kumar
Sanjay Jaiswal Surjeet Thakur
Siddhanth Mohapatra Shailendra
Neeraj Shekhar Sanjay Mishra
Parvez Verma Amit
Madhu Yaskhi Mushir
Vikas
About Batting for Life Batting for Life is an annual cricket match between Members of Parliament and journalists that aims to raise awareness about the leading childhood diseases and reinforce every child's right to life and good health. In its third year now, the event is organized by the Political Leaders Coalition for Child and Adolescent Health in association with Global Health Strategies and the Constitution Club of India, and hosted by Delhi Public School, Mathura Road. The event provides an opportunity to engage champions and key stakeholders like parliamentarians, journalists, and cricketers among others, bringing them to a common platform to raise awareness about childhood diseases and immunization, and increase the visibility of the child survival issues.
About the Political Coalition for Child and Adolescent Health
Political Leaders Coalition for Child and Adolescent Health (PLCCAH) is the first-ever political trust formed to provide impetus to improve child and adolescent health. The Trust aims to provide a stable platform for generating policy-level discussions, including on the need for sustained technical and financial resources to the immunization program. The trust will also be setting up state chapters with an aim to undertake advocacy activities at the state level as well and ensure that every child in India survives and thrives. The Trust is led by Dr Sanjay Jaiswal, BJP MP from Bihar as the Managing Trustee. Other Governing Council members include PD Rai (Member of Parliament, Sikkim), Kamlesh Paswan (Member of Parliament, UP) and Shivkumar Udaasi (Member of Parliament, Karnataka). Members of Parliament from other states, including Telangana, Assam, UP, Sikkim and Maharashtra have also expressed interest to join the Forum.
