To improve the nutritional status of mothers and children, a ‘Suposhan Chaupal’ will be organised at the Anganwadi centers of 17 'high burden districts' (with maximum malnourished children) of the State on every third Thursday of the month.
A circular has been issued by the Women and Child Development department in this regard to the Collectors and District Programme Officers of the concerned districts. Officials said that activities like ‘Godbharai’, ‘Annaprashan’, ‘Balbhoj’, etc would be undertaken in the ‘Suposhan Chaupal’. The high burden districts identified by the Department include Balod, Bemetara, Baloda-Bazar, Bastar, Gariaband, Durg, Kabirdham, Mahasamund, Korba, Jashpur, Narayanpur, Dantewada, Bijapur, Sukma, Kanker and Raipur.
According to the circular, the Central Government has directed to organise community based activities in Anganwadi centers to improve the nutrition of mothers and children under the ICDS Systems Strengthening and Nutrition Improvement Project (ISSNIP) started by the Central government with help of World Bank. By organising such programmes, the participation of community will increase under the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) and help in achieving the millennium development goal. The official said that for Godbharai programme at Anganwadi Centre, the registered pregnant women, pregnant women with seven months pregnancy and one or two members of their family will be invited. Similarly for Annaprashan, the children completing six months of age, children up to age of nine months registered with the anganwadi center, their parents and family members will be invited for participation in the programme.
Besides this, the moderate and severely malnourished children, their parents, children targeted in ‘Sneh Shivir’ and ‘Nava Jatan’ scheme and medical officers will participate in the Suposhan Chaupal. The participants will be welcomed and motivational song will be sung by the local heroes. The experiences mother in-law, ideal mothers, parents who have successfully cared their children from malnourished to nourished status etc would be made the chief guest of the programme, the officials said.
The gathering will be made aware of the importance of nutrition through these activities and discussions will also be held on the issues like care during pregnancy, nutritious food, malnutrition management quiz, etc. Information related to services and facilities provided under different government schemes like Sneh Shivir, Nava Jatan, Chief Minister Bal Sandarbh Yojna, Nutrition Rehabilitation Center etc will also be given to the participants during the Chaupal.
About 38 per cent of the 60,000 malnourished children targetted during the first and second phase of State Government’s ‘Nav Jatan Yojana’ during 2012-14 have been cured within an action plan period of barely six months, officials informed. Moreover, since year 2009, malnutrition eradication programme is also underway in the State, under which ‘Mukhyamantri Bal Sandarbh Yojana’ is being implemented in the State to provide healthcare through home-based management and additional health services to children with critical malnutrition condition, they stated.
Meanwhile, on Friday, the three-day training programme organised under the third phase of ‘Nav Jatan Yojana’ by State Government's Women and Child Development Department concluded here. The trainers from all 27 districts of the State participated in the programme held at the Training Centre of labhandi based Agriculture College. On the concluding day of the programme, training on subjects like 'dialogue with beneficiaries for nutrition', use of booklet, action plan of Nav Jatan Yojana's third phase, reporting etc was provided.
Notably, the third phase of Nav Jatan Yojana has already started in the State from September 1, 2014. To achieve Millennium Development Goal of malnutrition eradication and to prevent this condition in children, the State Government has targeted 66,000 children under the third phase of Nava Jatan Yojana and has set the goal of curing malnutrition in 27,000 children in this phase. In the same sequence, this training programme was organised.
During the training programme, Secretary, Women and Child Development Department Dinesh Shrivastava directed the officials concerned to include ‘Suposhan Mitra’ (Nutritional Friends) as members in the Committee of mothers formed for inspecting the quality of cooked meal, breakfast and nutritious supplements.He also directed officials to organise special Gram Sabhas and associate self-help groups (SHGs) to cure the condition of malnutrition in children.
In the programme, 66 master trainers and coordinators from all 27 districts of the State were present. Trainees were informed about the basic activities of the third phase, marking of main beneficiary system and structure, affectionate behaviour of family for better nutrition, inspiring children for physical, mental and social development, role of self-help groups and ‘Suposhan Mitra’ in community, roles and responsibilities of Panchayats, effects of ready-to-eat, nutritious meal menu, Nava Jatan email, software, Vazan Tyohar (Weighing Festival) software etc.
Data collected during Vazan Tyohar (Weighing Festival) in June 2014 shows that the level of malnutrition in the State has declined to nearly 33 per cent. As per the National Family Health Survey, the malnutrition level in the State in year 2005-06 was 52 per cent. It may be recalled that on August 25 last year, the Chhattisgarh Government had announced that it has taken upon itself the challenging task of eradicating malnutrition among children below 3 years of age across the State.The State Government took it as a challenge, and has chalked out an elaborate plan to eradicate malnutrition with the help of Anganwadi as well Phulwari centres, officials informed.
Officials informed that it is the first scheme of its kind in the nation that Phulwari centres have been opened with the help of Gram Panchayats and Mitanins of Health Department in Chhattisgarh. In these centres, children are served nutritious meals three times a day. No government employee or worker has been appointed in these centres. Instead, mothers of the children enrolled in Phulwari themselves attend the children and serve meal to them turn by turn. Provision has been made to enroll minimum 5 children and maximum 20 children in every Phulwari Centre.As per the announcement of Chief Minister Raman Singh, 'Phulwari Centres' have already been started in 85 tribal populated development blocks of Chhattisgarh.
The scheme has been formulated particularly to save children below 3 years of age from malnutrition and to improve their health. Panchayat and Rural Development Department officials had informed that the most important feature of this scheme is public participation, especially participation of mothers of such children. Chief Minister Raman Singh had announced the scheme of opening Pulwari centres in 85 tribal populated blocks of the State, on the occasion of Republic Day last year.Within one-and-a-half years of his announcement, Panchayat and Rural Development Department has started opening Phulwari Centres in the development blocks concerned in a schematic manner.
This scheme of the State government is being recognised at a national level. The Central Government's Centre for Innovation in Public Systems in Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh) presented this scheme as the Best Innovative Activity in India, at its Foundation Day Function organized on May 14, 2014.In this function, Chhattisgarh Government's Panchayat Department was also invited. According to the officials, this scheme was started in Surguja district two years back in August, 2012 on an experimental basis.On the initiative of District Panchayat, 300 Phulwari centres were started. Considering the success of this experiment, the Chief Minister announced implementation of this scheme in all 85 tribal populated development block of the State.
After the commencement of the scheme, experts from Pandit Jawahar lal Nehru Allopathic Medical College conducted a study in association with UNICEF, and findings of this study have shown commendable success of this scheme.Within one year of enrolling at Phulwari Centres, the children underwent a decline in their malnutrition level from 45 per cent to 30 per cent and their health conditions have also improved.
Significantly, in November last year, the European Union also endorsed the claims of the Chhattisgarh Government regarding steep decline in the infant and maternal mortality rate in the State. A representative of the European Union said the infant mortality rate and maternal mortality rate had come down drastically in the State due the efforts made in the health and family welfare sectors in the 15th meeting of the Programme Steering Committee chaired by Chief Secretary Vivek Dhand officials stated.
The Chief Secretary had reviewed the schemes jointly operated by the European Union and the State Government in Chhattisgarh during the meeting. Health, Family Wefare, School Education and Forest Department schemes and their progress was reviewed besides an Action plan was also prepared for the future programmes. During 2013-14, about 9000 teachers were trained under the joint co-operation of the State Government and European Union. In the current year 30,742 teachers are being trained, it was informed in the meeting.
A report of the Joint Review Mission pertaining to the schemes operated by the European Union was also presented in the meeting. Chhattisgarh has reported a significant decline in the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) from 61 per 1000 in year 2006 to 47 in year 2013, officials informed. The was due to promising results derived out of services such as vaccination programmes carried out across the State, they had stated. This apart, the Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR), which was 407 per one lakh deliveries in 1999-2001 has also declined to 230 per one lakh deliveries in year 2012-13.
The Rate of Malnutrition (low weight), which was 47 per cent in year 2005-06, has decreased to 32.51 in year 2014. Under Sanjeevani Sahayta Kosh Yojana, the patients of BPl category and beneficiary families of Chief Minister Food Grain Assistant Scheme are given financial aid for treatment of 30 critical diseases. This scheme includes provision of maximum financial aid of Rs1.5 lakh. Now the provision of Rs2 lakh for treatment of head injury and that of Rs3 lakh for kidney transplant has been included under the scheme.
