Maharashtra has emerged as the top performing State closely followed by Bihar in organising awareness campaigns as part of the Central government’s month-long programme on nutrition for women and children.
The Poshan Maah (Nutrition Month) organised each year is a nationwide celebration that promotes nutrition awareness and drives action towards building a healthier India.
This year, in its 7th phase, the Poshan Maah campaign focuses on critical themes such as anaemia prevention, growth monitoring, effective service delivery through good governance and technology, according to an official statement by the Women and Child Development Ministry on Thursday.
As part of the programme this year, over 9.22 crore activities have been held nationwide.
The top five performing States in terms of activities till date, include Maharashtra, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh.
The month-long programme was kicked off in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, by Union Minister of Women and Child Development Annpurna Devi and Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.
The month of September every year is celebrated as the Rashtriya Poshan Maah or the National Nutrition Month across the country.
The Programme is held in September each year under the ‘Poshan Abhiyan’ (the Prime Minister’s overarching scheme for holistic nourishment) which focuses on advancing nutritional outcomes for children under six years, adolescent girls, pregnant women, and lactating mothers holistically.
Some of the critical issues being targeted under the larger Poshan Abhiyaan framework include anaemia prevention, growth monitoring, complementary feeding of children from six month onwards and technology for better governance.
It also focusses on nutrition-specific interventions like promoting healthy eating practices, improving dietary diversity, and educating communities about locally available nutritious foods.
A total of 13,99,484 Anganwadi centres (AWCs) across 781 districts in 36 States and Union Territories are operated under this programme, supported by 13,33,561 Anganwadi workers. These centres cater to over 9.98 crore beneficiaries, the Ministry said.
Published – September 26, 2024 08:48 pm IST
