Ranchi, 17 March 2021 (HS)Even after 20 years of the formation of Jharkhand state, the state is surrounded by a major disaster of malnutrition. According to the latest National Nutrition Survey, 42.9 percent of Jharkhand are malnourished children. This number is the highest in the country. Jharkhand 69 percent children 65 percent women are affected by anemia. The government has started efforts with a 1,000-day campaign against malnutrition and anemia by improving the health of mothers, children and adolescents of the state. For this, the summer project is starting for the next three years. The objective of the program is to increase the number of children receiving adequate and nutritious food. With the help of the project, a special campaign will run for a thousand days in the entire state. The government is serious about the project. The Chief Minister has clearly indicated that he will personally oversee the project.
Data collection will be done with the help of app in the project. The team formed for the campaign will go door-to-door in their area and take information related to malnutrition among children below five years of age. Information about the health of adolescent girls, women and lactating mothers in the age group of 15 to 35 years will be obtained from anemia. In case of symptoms of anemia and malnutrition in anyone, they will be closely examined at the nearest Anganwadi center for further investigation and further action will be taken on the basis of that. Possibly malnourished children will be sent to the nearest health center for necessary treatment.
The Chief Secretary has given necessary instructions after meeting with all the concerned departments for the scheme of implementation of the State Nutrition Mission across the state. The Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotion Society, Integrated Child Development Scheme and Health Department will work on the plan to make the campaign successful. In the first phase, the summer project will be started in five districts. After this the campaign will be run in the remaining districts of the state. The project will start in all 34, 800 Anganwadi centers in the state with a campaign connecting the concerned Anganwadi workers, ANMs, Anganwadi Helper and JSLPS SHGs.
Before sending the project to rural areas, a block-level workshop will be organized for capacity building of Anganwadi workers, Asha, Enem and women of self-help groups. The training workshop for supervisors, CDPOs, DSWOs will also be held at the district level in the presence of the Deputy Commissioners of the districts. Supervisors will be appointed to supervise the project in the respective areas. During the capacity building workshop, everyone will be taught to observe the cases of malnutrition and anemia and to use the app for data collection. During the survey, teams will distribute information related to the symptoms of malnutrition and anemia along with information related to awareness in every household.
The Chief Minister will launch the dashboard for continuous monitoring of the summer. Information related to the project will be integrated into the Chief Minister’s Nutrition Dashboard. The dashboard will not only help in the district’s review performance, but it will also provide information on the actual differences region-wise. The Chief Secretary has directed the Health Department to conduct a departmental survey related to the availability of beds in the malnutrition treatment center in the state. In addition, Anganwadi centers with cases of malnutrition and anemia will be equipped with convergence of MNREGA with kitchen gardens. The Women and Child Development Department has been instructed to propose a dietary allowance scheme for adolescent girls suffering from malnutrition and anemia. In this way, the state government has started efforts to eradicate malnutrition and anemia. The aim is to reduce maternal-infant mortality during pregnancy and issues related to maternal and child health. Also, to take out Jharkhand from the web of malnutrition and anaemia.
