Lucknow: Sesame Workshop, the global nonprofit behind Sesame Street, with support from global healthcare company Abbott, today launched new healthy habits resources in India. This program aims to help families establish routines around nutrition, physical activity, and sleep from an early age, laying the foundation for lifelong wellness and reducing the risk of chronic illnesses. Abbott and Sesame Workshop in India are sharing resources in Hindi to help make health concepts easy and simple to understand and practice. This adaptation of the global program reflects local culture, community systems, and the unique needs of children and caregivers in India.
As part of this program, a family special, Elmo’s World: Dance Party, was premiered in Hindi on the India YouTube channel [https://youtu.be/FjM4hCtzUMo]. Featuring everyone’s favorite Sesame Street residents, lively music, and engaging movement activities, the special encourages children and caregivers to explore healthy behaviors together in a fun and supportive environment.
The program was officially launched recently in Lucknow by Leena Johri, Additional Chief Secretary – Women and Child Development, Government of Uttar Pradesh. The on-ground launch brought together representatives from the government, Sesame Workshop India, Abbott India, and frontline health workers from local Anganwadi centers. This on-ground launch represents a significant step toward fostering healthy routines from an early age.
At the event, Anganwadi workers received the healthy habits resources, highlighting the critical role of community systems and government support in promoting healthy behaviors at the grassroots level. Designed with a strong focus on early childhood, the resources feature beloved Sesame Street characters and use play-based learning and simple activities to help children and caregivers adopt healthy habits. In India, the program offers Hindi-language resources such as storybooks, activity books, yoga guides, calendars, flashcards, and interactive games. These materials are distributed through childcare centers, community platforms, and digital channels to support families and frontline workers (from local Anganwadi Centres).
During the launch, Johri emphasized the need to address the physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing of children in a timely manner, noting that encouraging healthy habits, such as balanced nutrition, regular physical activity, structured daily routines, and positive thinking, from an early age plays a crucial role in enabling children to lead healthy and empowered lives. She also drew attention to the importance of focused efforts in remote and underserved areas, stressing the value of play-based and activity-oriented learning, connection with nature, and the creation of safe, supportive, and nurturing environments for children.
She further reiterated the Department of Women and Child Development’s ongoing efforts to strengthen the implementation of programs related to nutrition, health, education, and mental wellbeing at the grassroots level, and highlighted the importance of collaborative initiatives involving government systems, local communities, Anganwadi workers, ASHA workers, and social organizations in achieving these objectives.
Reflecting on the initiative, Sonali Khan, Managing Director, Sesame Workshop India, said: “The healthy habits program is rooted in the belief that healthy habits, when introduced early, can shape a child’s wellbeing for life. Through this initiative, we are reaching more than 10000 children and caregivers on-ground by working closely with Anganwadi centres and ASHA workers, while also connecting with millions of families through digital platforms, including our YouTube special and related resources. By aligning with existing government programs and community systems active in Uttar Pradesh, the initiative complements the state’s ongoing efforts to strengthen nutrition, health, and early childhood development, helping make healthy routines a part of everyday life for children and families”
Reflecting on the broader health context, Poonam Sharma, Director, Global Citizenship & Sustainability, Abbott India, said: “India is facing a significant health challenge as non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like diabetes and obesity are rising sharply among children and adolescents. Healthy habits start early. Together with Sesame Workshop, we’ve developed a program that aims at offering research-based content, community outreach, and free resources for children and caregivers to help families take small steps toward a healthier future.”
The launch was also attended by members of Sesame Workshop India, including Sanjay Kumar, Noorul Haque, Dr. Jayanti Prakash, Bhawneet Singh, and Nishant Baruah, along with Anganwadi workers. The interaction highlighted the critical role of frontline workers in strengthening community-level adoption of healthy habits.
Through healthy habits resources, Sesame Workshop and Abbott India aim to empower children, caregivers, and frontline workers from local Anganwadi Centres to build habits that support lifelong physical and emotional well-being, one small, everyday step at a time.
