HRIDAY - SHAN

HRIDAY-SHAN in collaboration with Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (Government of India) organized South East Asian Anti Tobacco (SEAAT) flame function in the year 2000 with participation of WHO’s officials from Geneva, Regional office and Country office and mobilized 2500 school students of Delhi under HRIDAY-SHAN programme who also participated in the SEAAT flame function. As part of the SEAAT flame function, anti-tobacco oath taking ceremony was organized in the morning assemblies of 3 schools under HRIDAY-SHAN.
Five HRIDAY-SHAN Youth health activists and one teacher coordinator involved in HRIDAY-SHAN programme represented India at a Health Jamboree Organized by WHO-SEARO at Maldives in 2001.
HRIDAY-SHAN programme was listed as a ‘best practice’ model by World Health Organization and recommended for global replication by WHO.
HRIDAY-SHAN was awarded the WHO’s Tobacco Free World Award for 2002.
Viewing the success of HRIDAY, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and World Health Organization recommended extention of the HRIDAY-SHAN model in other cities of India .HRIDAY-SHAN model was replicated in 9 other cities of India in the year 2002.
Youth activists trained by HRIDAY-SHAN represented India in several international health conventions, organized by WHO like- ‘Health , Marketing & Youth’ held in Treviso, Italy (April, 2002) and ‘Tobacco Control Marketing: Best Practices and Beyond’, New York (June 2003).
Project MYTRI (2002-2007) - HRIDAY is a recipient of the prestigious International Tobacco Research and Capacity Building grant of the Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health, USA. As a part of this grant, HRIDAY, in collaboration with the University of Texas, USA is conducting a group randomized, multi-component, intervention trail – Project MYTRI (Mobilizing Youth for Tobacco Related Initiatives in India). MYTRI is designed to test the effectiveness of a tobacco prevention programme and aims to prevent the onset and reduce the prevalence of tobacco use among youth in India.
Students of HRIDAY-SHAN wrote an appeal to the former Health Minister of India, Mrs. Sushma Swaraj, on the occasion of World Health Day, April 7, 2003 to convey their gratitude for facilitating the re-introduction of the Indian Tobacco Control Bill, 2001 in the Parliament. They assured their support in ensuring that the Tobacco Control Act, 2003 is fully implemented.
HRIDAY-SHAN’s health activist group called “Students Against Tobacco (SAT)” organized awareness campaign to ensure effective enforcement of the rules notified by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare related to the Indian Tobacco Control Act, 2003. The participating students distributed the copies of the Act and rules to managers and owners of nearby hotels and restaurants to sensitize the restaurant owners about the rules related to prohibition of smoking in public places, enforced from May 1, 2004.
Global Youth Meet on Health (GYM 2006)- HRIDAY-SHAN organized the First Global Youth Meet on Health (GYM 2006), in Delhi and Agra, India during November, 14-19, 2006. In this first of a kind meet, youth from around the world were oriented to health issues, using innovative health education strategies. This initiative empowered the youth about health awareness and imparted health advocacy skills among these youth leaders. 168 youth activists and 57 adult facilitators from 35 countries from all around the world and 11 states of India participated in this meet. These informed youth activists, under the guidance of adult facilitators, will steer campaigns that will mobilize their peers and motivate governments to implement health promoting policies at national and international levels.
Representatives from HRIDAY – SHAN participated in GYAT summit and WCTOH, Washington DC.