2019 – Posted in: Daily News – Tags: POSHAN Abhiyan

RASHTRIYA POSHAN MAAH

For: Preliminary & Mains

Topics covered: About Rashtriya Poshan Maah, POSHAN Abhiyan

News Flash

The entire month of September will be celebrated as the Rashtriya Poshan Maah. The theme of this year is “Complementary Feeding”.

Holistic Nourishment – POSHAN Abhiyaan is a multi- ministerial convergence mission with the vision to address malnutrition with a targeted approach by 2022.

Objective

The Nutrition Month campaign’s objective is to ensure proper care, providing nutrition supplements to children in the first 1000 days after birth and saving them from diarrhoea.

National Nutrition Mission

National Nutrition Mission/ POSHAN Abhiyaan was launched in March 2018 to improve nutritional status of children up to 6 years, adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers to achieve specific targets for reduction in low birth weight babies, stunting growth, under nutrition and prevalence of anemia over next three years.

POSHAN Abhiyaan is not a programme but a Jan Andolan meaning “People’s Movement”.

Under Poshan Abhiyan states/UTs need to achieve convergence through the close coordination between the department of women and child welfare; health and family welfare; drinking water and sanitation; rural development; panchayati raj; education; food and other concerned departments.

Rashtriya Poshan Maah

POSHAN Abhiyaan (National Nutrition Mission) is India’s flagship programme, launched in March 2018 to improve nutritional status of children up to 6 years, adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers to achieve specific targets for reduction in low birth weight babies, stunting growth, under nutrition and prevalence of anemia over next three years.

To give momentum to POSHAN Abhiyan , ‘National Council on India’s Nutrition Challenges’ on 24th July 2018 decided to celebrate the month of September as Rashtriya Poshan Maah. During this month activities related to nutrition awareness will be carried out by all the states/UTs up to the grass root level.

The implementing departments /agencies like women and child development department through anganwari workers, health and family welfare department through ASHA, ANM, primary health centres, community health centres, school education and literary department through schools, panchayati raj department through panchayat, and rural development trough self-help groups will carry out the activities and spread the message during the month.

Among whom change is intended?

Poshan Abhiyaan intends to increase nutrition awareness among mothers of young children, adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women, family members (husbands, father, mothers-in-law) and community members, health care providers (ANM, ASHA, Anganwari worker) about key nutrition behaviours.

Key nutrition behaviours include:

For Pregnant Women

Eat balanced diet containing variety of foods that is rich in iron and vitamins.
Take milk and milk products, and iodised salt.
Drink safe water.
Get at least four antenatal checkups from nearest health facility.
IFA (Iron and folic acid) tablet and calcium supplementation
Promote for institutional delivery at nearest health center/ hospital.
Awareness about personal hygiene and cleanliness.
Washing hands before eating and after defecation.

Lactating mothers

Breastfeeding should be started within one hour of child birth.
Eat balanced diet containing variety of foods that is rich in iron and vitamins.
Take milk and milk product and iodised salt.
Regular IFA tablets (till 6 months after delivery) and calcium supplementation.
Drink safe drinking water.
Wash hands before eating and feeding child.
Wash hands after defecation and handling child’s stool.
Personal cleanliness and hygiene of herself and baby.

Children

Every newborn should be breastfed within one hour of birth.
Mothers should exclusively breastfeed their babies for the first six months.
Every infant should be given complementary foods on completing 6 months with breastfeeding continues till 2 years and beyond
Every child should be provided full immunization under Universal Immunisation Programme.
From 9 months onwards give your child vitamin A supplementation and deworming syrup/tablet (from one year of age) twice a year.
Regular monitoring of the growth of infants and children with nutrition advice.
Every child who has diarrhoea is given sufficient oral rehydration solution and zinc supplementation.

Adolescent girls

Eat balanced diet containing variety of foods that is rich in iron and vitamins
Take milk and milk product and iodised salt
Take IFA blue tablet every week.
Maintain personal hygiene and menstrual hygiene
Take deworming tablet twice a year.

Drink safe water

Wash hands before eating and after defecation.
Ensure safe drinking water in the community
Every household safely disposes of child and animal faeces.
Every member of all households use toilet at all times.
Promote girls’ education, diet and right marriage age.
Cultivation of vegetables in the community for local use.

Source: NHP