Patna: Aabra Ka Daabra Gili Gili Chu!!
Don't be surprised if you find a magician saying this and showing you some quick magic while also making you acquainted about dos and don'ts of pneumonia and diarrhoea.
The state chapter of Unicef, in collaboration with the health department, is going to start Tiku Talk Show in 17 districts as part of which magicians would be roped in for spreading awareness about both the diseases.
The Tiku Talk Show would be organised in 20 selected districts, including Saran, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, Sitamarhi, Sheohar, Madhubani among others. The tender process for selecting the private agency, which would organise the Tiku Talk Show and would also do the job of hiring magician for the show, would be completed within two days, said Unicef sources. The talk show would start in the districts next month.
"Three years ago, Unicef in collaboration with the health department, had launched a similar campaign in which a magician was involved in spreading awareness about immunisation drive. The initiative was hugely appreciated. Due to good response, we are launching a similar drive for creating awareness for pneumonia and diarrhoea. Bihar figures among the states where most number of pneumonia and diarrhoea related death cases have been reported. Such kind of drive is likely to bring an impact on masses," said an Unicef official, adding that pneumonia alone had claimed 21,000 children's lives in the state in a year before they reached the age of five as per the Sample Registration System Data, 2009.
He added: "In the earlier Tiku Talk Show for immunisation awareness, a decorated van used to halt at a place. A magician, who used to call himself Tiku, use to jump out of the van and would tell people about the availability of various vaccines that can save infants from various diseases while showing some magic alongside. This time, a similar thing would happen but Tiku would talk about pneumonia and diarrhoea instead."
At the end of the show, the magician would ask a few questions to the audience and those who would answer right, would be given chocolates and some other gifts. "All this would be done to keep the audience engaged in the show and make them learn about the disease at the same time," added the official.
He said that in another initiative, auxiliary nurse midwives, accredited social health activists (ASHA) workers and anganwadi sevikas would be trained in the prevention measures for the two diseases so that they spread the message among community members.
