The Chhattisgarh Government would soon engage professional firms for providing design and construction services for commencing the work of developing 50 model anganwadi centres in the State, officials stated.
Notably, a campaign to improve the quality of the functioning of about 50,000 Anganwadis in Chhattisgarh titled ‘Anganwadi Quality Improvement Campaign’ was also launched from January 4, 2016. The target is to pull out about one lakh impoverished children out of the malnourished category.
There are several State Government programmes to alleviate malnourishment from among the deprived sections of the society. The schemes include Navajatan programme, Chief Minister Bal Sandarbh Yojana, Dattak Putri Suposhan Yojana and Sneh Sibir are organised for the welfare of malnourished children, officials stated. ‘Ready-to-Eat’ food is prepared by the women’s self-help groups. The aim of the campaign is to improve the functioning of Anganwadis to make it more effective in deliveries. Anganwadi Quality Improvement Campaign’’ will help achieve the desired goals.
The people’s representatives, senior prominent citizens and several groups will monitor the quality of Anganwadi centres. They will adopt Anganwadi centres and severely malnourished children also.
The campaign is to observe the protein food prepared at the Women’s Self-Help Groups centres. ‘Nutritious Food Utsav’ is now to be celebrated on the first and third Tuesdays of every month.
The Chhattisgarh Government has also claimed that more than 50,000 children had been cured of malnutrition under the Navajatan Scheme.
Woman and Child Development Department officers informed that three phases of the implementation of the Navajatan scheme had been completed and the fourth phase of implementation commenced on July 16 last year. In the fourth phase, around 33,000 children have been targetted to be brought to the normal nutrition levels, officials stated.
As many as 26.62 lakh women and children are served nutritious food in Anganwadi and Mini Anganwadi centres across the State, officials stated. The food is distributed in 43,558 Anganwadi and 6,329 Mini Anganwadi centres operated by Woman and Child Development Department.
Department officials informed that a total of 220 Integrated Child Development projects are currently operational in 27 districts of the State. The Anganwadi centres in Chhattisgarh serve not just provide nutritious food to the mothers and their children.The centres are also imparting pre-school informal education across the State, officials informed.
These Aanganwadi centres provide other facilities and services like vaccination, health check-up, referral services, nutritious supplement meals, health and nutrition education.
More than 20,000 women self help groups (SHGs) are now involved in cooking snacks and hot meals at Anganwadi centres across Chhattisgarh, officials stated.
Moreover, about 1500 women SHGs are also engaged in making Ready-to-Eat food.
For ensuring nutritious food supply for women and children in Chhattisgarh, the State government has provisioned Rs 470 crore for supplementary diets in the financial year 2015-16 officials informed.
In year 2001, only 11.60 lakh beneficiaries were part of this scheme; however, now this number has reached 26.62 lakh, they said.
Women and Child Development Department officials informed that children of age group 3 to 6 years who are suffering from serious malnutrition are provided hot food and snacks in the Anganwadi centers.
Meals served to these children include rice, vegetables, mixed dal while the snacks like Ready-to-Eat food, soaked gram, jaggery and roasted ground nut.
Women and Child Development Minister Ramsheela Sahu recently stated that the rate of malnutrition among children has declined drastically.
She was speaking at the Orientation Workshop of District Programme Officers, District Women and Child Development officers and Child Programme Development Officers.
Sahu said there are several programmes like Navajatan Yojana, Weight Festival (Vajan Tyohar) , Sneha Camps, Nutrition Choupal and Chief Minister’s Bal Sandarbh Yojana in Chhattisgarh.
The beneficiaries should receive their updated information at the designated places. It helps in correct assessment of the schemes, she said.
The main purpose of this workshop will be achieved only when the know-how is implemented at the ground-level. It is necessary to create awareness among the masses and urge them to join the schemes, Sahu said.
It may be recalled that Chhattisgarh has as many as 54 Nutritional Rehabilitation Centres (NRCs) functional in the State with 2,685 children admitted in them as on December 2014.
The State is among the top 10 ‘Non North East (NE)’ High Focus states.The other states in the category are-Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Under National Health Mission, 896 Nutrition Rehabilitation Centres (NRCs) are functional in 25 States/UTs, for treatment and nutritional rehabilitation of children suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition along with medical complications.
The number of children referred to NRCs by ANM, ASHA, Anganwadi workers and admitted to NRCs during each of the last three years.
The Chhattisgarh government is also opening ‘Nutrition Rehabilitation Centres’ (NRCs) in the community health centres of the insurgency infested districts.
During the last financial year, a total of 88 malnurished children were brought back to normal nutritional levels in the district.
Notably, More than 20,000 women self help groups (SHGs) are now involved in cooking snacks and hot meals at Anganwadi centres across Chhattisgarh, officials stated.