For Chhattisgarh, it is a great achievement that the malnutrition rate among the children of the State is decreasing continuously and significantly which indicates the success of the large-scale malnutrition eradication campaign run by the State Government since 2009.
The malnutrition rate in the State, according to the latest figures, is only 38 per cent, whereas, it was 47.6 per cent among the children of the State, up to 5 years, as per the report-2007 of the International Institute of Population Sciences. As such, within the span of 7 years, the malnutrition level of the State has come down by about 10 per cent. However, even today, the malnutrition rate of the neighbouring States of Bihar and Jharkhand is more than 50 per cent. This clearly shows that it was the first priority of the State Government to free the State from malnutrition.
According to the millennium development target, the Woman and Child Development department, accepting the participation of the Government and the society as standard theory, has been operating the malnutrition eradication drive to bring the malnutrition, child and maternal mortality rates down, positive result of which has come to the fore.
On experimental basis, Mukhyamantri Baal Sandarph Yojana and Navajatan Yojana have been launched in the State to provide home-based management and health facilities to bring the malnourished children out of malnutrition. Under the Mukhyamantri Baal Sandarf Yojana, to bring improvement in the health of gross malnourished and other seriously ill children, medical examination, medicines prescribed by doctor and facility of consultation by child specialists were being provided. More than two lakh children were benefited from this scheme so far.
Under the Navajatan Yojana, with the cooperation of the community, with special efforts, malnutrition among children were controlled in a limited period. In the scheme, most malnutrition affected 20,000 children of about 340 village panchayats in the State have been targeted, out of which, within six months, more than 35 per cent children were brought out from malnutrition, with the direct participation of the community, specially women self-help groups and Suposhan Mitra. In 2013-14, a target has been set to freeing 42,000 children of 573 panchayats from malnutrition.
Similarly, by extending the consolidated child development service programme run for the all-round development of children, Aanganbadi centres were being operated in the settlements of far-flung areas. About 25 lakh beneficiaries, including 20 lakh children, have been benefited through the 50,000 Aanganbadi and Mini-Aanganbadi centres in the State. To make the services of Aanganbadi centres more effective, on the initiative of Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh, 25,000 new posts of Aanganbadi workers have been sanctioned in the Aanganbadi centres of 17 out of 27 districts of the State.
To know the factual situation of malnutrition, weighing festival was observed in the State and observation of all the children has been started through software. Chhattisgarh is such a State in the country where survey is conducted on the nutrition level of each child to know the factual position. Government of India is considering to implement the new initiative of Chhattisgarh across the country. Remarkable step is being taken to develop Aanganbadi centres as ‘Pradham Chouki’ of village for health and nutrition by strengthening and re-organising the Integrated Child Development Services in the State, in which, mainly increasing the time of Aanganbadi centres, improvement in quality of pre-school education, child management and organisation of Education Day, better services of the centres are included.
To make supplementary nutritious food nutritious, tasty and qualitative, the State Government has handed over its cent per cent preparation and distribution work to Women Self-Help Groups. 1,489 women self-help groups prepare ready-to-eat food for all the Aanganbadi centres in the State.
Besides, about 20,000 women’s groups have the responsibility of preparing breakfast and hot food in the Aanganbadi centres. With these efforts, the State will definitely bring down the prescribed malnutrition level of Millennium target to 30 per cent by 2015 and the time to come, the State will be fully free from malnutrition.