Health crisis due to pandemic has turned into acute child rights crisis: Ayushmann on World Children’s Day

Youth icon and Bollywood star Ayushmann Khurrana is a thought-leader who is aiming to bring constructive, positive changes in society with his progressive, conversation-starting entertainers. Ayushmann, voted as one of the most influential people of the world by TIME Magazine, has been recently appointed as UNICEF’s Celebrity Advocate for their global campaign EVAC (Ending Violence Against Children). On World Children’s Day also known as Child Right’s Day, Ayushmann reveals that the health crisis that happened during the pandemic has turned into an acute humanitarian and child rights crisis now.

Having been the EVAC Celebrity Advocate for over a year now, Ayushmann has a few suggestions in this regard. He says, “UNICEF advocates for the rights of every child, everywhere. These rights are interlinked - For example, only when children are healthy can they attend school regularly. And only when the child attends school, will he/she escape from child labour or child marriage. They are also indivisible: is not enough for a child to have the right to education but not of protection. Or having access to health care but not to nutrition.”

The versatile star adds, “The Convention on the Rights of the Child that lays down these rights was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1989 on this day, which we observe as World Children’s Day. While there is progress on many fronts, we know that many children are still deprived of their rights. We need to build awareness and reach the hearts and minds of people to bring about change.”

He further states, “As a UNICEF Celebrity Advocate, I would like to continue taking every opportunity to reach out to the widest audiences possible to create awareness on these rights, so that any single child, girl or boy, regardless caste, social background, economic situation can have access to their rights. Because it's THEIR right.”