1. District Kargil, Ladakh

Such a privilege to carry out vitamin A distribution to children in Kargil, and treat malnutrition in pregnant women and nursing mothers! Every Infant Matters is grateful to Mr Santosh Sachdeva, District Collector Kargil, and to the donor unnikrishnan ts and Swarnima Tamang and GREAT EASTERN FOUNDATION who are supporting a large scale 2 year project covering the entire district.We work in all 6 blocks and 127 villages, going right up to Indo-Pakistan border. Kargil is an bitterly cold area, sparsely populated with tribals. There is a severe problem of poor health infrastructure and shortage of medical personnel. We have delivered 1,75,000 Vitamin A doses to tribal children 0-5 years. Our other activities include antenatal care, health camps, training of 852 ASHAs and other government workers, and anemia testing and treatment.

High in the rugged Himalayas, at over 8,000 feet above sea level, lies Kargil—a breathtaking region known for its bravery, resilience, and stunning landscapes. But behind its natural beauty is a quieter, urgent story: the health challenges faced by communities living in one of India’s most remote districts.

At Every Infant Matters, our work often brings us to places where healthcare access is not a given but a daily struggle. Kargil is one such region where the terrain, climate, and limited infrastructure pose unique barriers to health and well-being—especially for infants, children, and women:

1. Geographic Isolation and Harsh Terrain
Kargil’s mountainous terrain makes mobility extremely difficult. Several villages remain cut off for months during winter. Reaching the nearest PHC or district hospital can take hours—sometimes requiring travel by foot across icy slopes.
For pregnant women, children with fever, or patients with chronic conditions, this delay in care can be dangerous or even fatal.

2. Limited Healthcare Infrastructure
While the district has hospitals and sub-centres, the shortage of specialist doctors, trained nurses, and diagnostic facilities continues to be a major challenge.
Simple lab tests, emergency obstetric care, and neonatal services are often unavailable locally, forcing families to travel long distances to Leh or Srinagar—an option not always feasible.

3. Maternal and Child Health Vulnerabilities
Expectant mothers face multiple risks:
Limited antenatal and postnatal care
Inadequate nutrition and anemia
Difficulties reaching a healthcare facility during labour
Lack of emergency neonatal care, which is crucial in high-altitude pregnancies
Infants, too, are vulnerable to low birth weight, respiratory issues, poor immunization coverage, and malnutrition, especially during winter when food supply becomes restricted.

4. Harsh Winters and Seasonal Blockades
Temperatures in Kargil can dip below –60°C. Winters bring road blockades, supply shortages, and disruption in healthcare outreach.
Immunization teams struggle to maintain vaccine cold chains. Families often run out of essential medicines.
For children, respiratory infections spike dramatically during these months.

5. Mental Health: An Underrated Crisis
Living in remote, conflict-affected, and climate-challenged spaces takes a toll.
Youth face stress due to limited education and employment opportunities.
Women carry disproportionate emotional burdens, balancing household responsibilities with limited support systems. Yet mental health services remain nearly non-existent.

We are proud of our partnership with the Great Eastern Foundation that has enabled us to provide the much needed mother and child care in Kargil.

On the frozen mountain slopes of Kargil, community health workers of Every Infant Matters brave the snow and bitter cold to serve marginalised tribal women and children living close to the Indo Pakistan border. “These are our foot soldiers. The exemplify courage and Sewa, service to the nation,” says Dr Radhika Batra, who has dedicated her life to fighting malnutrition and it’s horrifying side-effects: permanent blindness due to vitamin A deficiency.

Health workers closely in partnership with the government. They go door to door with Asha workers, they work in the government health centres, and they reach the most marginalised of all in Anganwadi Centres and social religious Centres,. They carry out deworming and distributing of vitamin A to save lives of children and to save children from becoming blind. They also carry out screening of hashtag#anaemia and malnutrition in teenage girls and pregnant women and carry out hashtag#nutritional counselling, and distribution of protein supplements. This holistic approach actually prevents hashtag#vitaminA deficiency in hashtag#newborn children. 

Working in Monasteries in Kargil: At a height of 9000 feet above sea level in village Mulbekh, district hashtag#Kargil, hashtag#Ladakh, there is a Buddhist monastery known as the Jangchup Choeliny Buddhist Nunnery.

A team of doctors and psychologist from Every Infant Matters visited this monastery last week to provide personalised hashtag#healthcare to female Buddhist nuns, who live cloistered from the world, spending their lives in contemplation, meditation, and prayer. Though we had held a health camp in Mulbekh village nearby, the nuns were unable to visit the camp.

Since the older female chomos (female lamas) of the monastery could not attend the camp due to their age, they requested that the doctors visit the monastery instead. Accordingly, we went to the monastery where the doctors carried out health check-ups. The issue concerning the patients was also addressed in the presence of their parents, who were counseled as well. Parents of other patients with psychological concerns also received counseling.

The donors were warmly welcomed by the senior ladies of the monastery, given a tour of the premises, and introduced to the community. Additionally, hemoglobin testing for all 30 members of the 

Our Impact:

• delivered  Vitamin A to 1,75,000 children
• Delivered 72,000 deworming tablets. 
• Screened 3,000 children for malnutrition and distributed protein bags. 
• Screened over 6,000 women for anemia
• Counseled pregnant and lactating mothers, distributing protein bags. 
• Partnered with the government to prevent anemia by distributing Iron-folic acid tablets. 
• Comprehensive training of 852 ASHA workers, pharmacists and community health officers.
• Achieved zero maternal and infant mortality.

2. Nandghars in Rajasthan

Selected by the Anil Agarwal Foundation to provide health, nutrition, and anemia testing in 300 Nand Ghar’s in Rajasthan. The Anil Agarwal Foundation has transformed traditional government Anganwadis into modern, state-of-the-art hubs for education, healthcare, nutrition, and women empowerment. We are starting in District Kota, Rajsathan, and pleased to say that we have recieved full support from the District Collector, Chief medical Officer and other officers .

Strategic Objectives of partnership: To enhance community health outcomes through targeted interventions in Nandghars:

• Anaemia Screening: Conduct comprehensive screening across 300 Nand Ghars over a one-year period.
• Integrated Health Camps: Facilitate specialized camps focusing on hygiene, handwashing, nutrition, and gender equality.

A day in Nandghar: what does it look like?

The day before: A day in Nandghar actually begins the day before. Prior to the visit to the Nandgarh, our CHWs (Community Health Workers) will visit the neighbourhood on the prior day, and inform everyone in the community that they must visit the Nandghar next day. The mothers and children are all welcome as we are carrying out of Health camp. The message given will be as follows: ‘Tomorrow we will be carrying out community health activities for your children. We will test we will find out if they have nutritional deficiencies. We will also carry out interactive activities in a manner so that the children are happy to learn and imbibe key messages. If you have any questions, we have a panel of senior doctors who will answer your questions regarding pregnancy, immunisation, nutrition, and daily childhood problems.’

Next Morning:  The team  visits the designated Nandghar for that day. They arrive at 10 AM and greet the mothers and children.They  put up the banners on anaemia,testing and health camps.

They explain the proceedings for the day. They start by carrying out a demonstration of the haemoglobin testing using a non-invasive haemoglobinometer. Before testing for children they will explain the process. They will demonstrate how the testing will be done, just by putting a finger on the machine and show how easy and simple and painless the processes. Then they will carry out haemoglobin testing of women and children. In real time, we get the results, so the targeted counselling can be given to anaemic patients.

The next process will be the Health education and awareness camps. Our team will carry out health education on a variety of subject, such as:

• What is good food and bad food?
• How should handwashing be done?
• How to maintain good hygiene
• The importance of exercise
• Those children who have got anaemia, what special precautions should be taken for them?
• Advice on nutrition for growing children, pregnant women and nursing mothers.

Our team will carry out Health promoting games.( For example, raise your hand if you know the answer)The aim of carrying out the games and intersperse fun activities among the talks is to make it interesting and interactive so that there is maximum participation and enjoyment of children.After completing the Health camp, the team will say goodbye and thank the Anganwadi worker and co-ordinator, and next they visit the neighbourhood where the next Nandghar is located, to carry out community mobilisation for maximum attendance on the next day.

3. Baramulla, Kashmir

Every Infant Matters distributes Vitamin A and Deworming to 10,000 school children. It continues its fight against malnutrition and its serious consequences. We are working in the schools of Baramulla, Kashmir, fighting malnutrition in children, preventing one of the most horrifying consequences of hunger, that is permanent blindness due to vitamin A deficiency. We join hands with the National Health Mission, government of India, in villages of Block Sopore, District Baramulla, to implements its projects in government schools in the village Wadoora Tehsil Dangerpora and Higher Secondary Schools in Jammu & Kashmir. Now this programme is being held continuously in all blocks in district Baramulla.

“We celebrate inclusion and diversity”, says Dr Radhika Batra. We are proud and honoured to be working in Kashmir and shall leave no stone unturned to scale our project in this area.”

Our biggest support comes from the local communities themselves. More than 60% of our volunteers and frontline workers belong to marginalised communities, minorities, backward classes and castes.

In one of the schools, Miss Tanveera, the Block Coordinator NHRM delivered a lecture regarding Health and hygiene, giving advice to pregnant mothers who should eat a balanced diet and drink plenty of liquids. She also advised women to start breastfeeding shortly after delivery in order to promote lactation. This was folllwed by giving Vitamin A supplements and deworming tablets to children 0-5 years.

The Principal of Higher Secondary School Dangerpora Gh Nabi Sumji Sahib delivered a lecture regarding Albendazole. She said that we must reduce the prevalence of worm infections among vulnerable children in order to build health and improve school performance.

In another school, the program started with an awareness speech delivered by Dr Hilal, Director of WHIPRO, who briefed the participants including the students and faculty members and non teaching staffs about the importance of vitamin A and Deworming.

Mr Javid Ahmad, DDC member of Dangerpora Block Sopore was the Chief Guest and gave the keynote speech at the health camp for free distribution of vitamins supplements and deworminig of children.
The participants included FMPHWs, Ashas,Health Workers, Educations department dignitaries and many others.
BDC Member Mr Shabir Ahmad expressed his gratitude to Every Infant Matters and its President Dr Radhika Batra.