The Anganwadi worker is the most important functionary of the ICDS scheme. The Anganwadi worker is a community based front line worker of the ICDS Programme. She plays a crucial role in promoting child growth and development. She is also an agent of social change, mobilizing community support for better care of young children.
The Anganwadi Worker is the community – based voluntary frontline workers of the ICDS Programme.
Role and responsibilities of Anganwadi Workers
The role and responsibilities of AWWs and Helpers envisaged under the ICDS Scheme are as under:
- To elicit community support and participation in running the programme.
- To weigh each child every month, record the weight graphically on the growth card, use referral card for referring cases of mothers/children to the sub-centres/PHC etc., and maintain child cards for children below 6 years and produce these cards before visiting medical and para-medical personnel
- Carry out a quick survey of all the families
- To organise non-formal pre-school activities in the Anganwadi of children in the age group 3-6 years of age
- To organise supplementary nutrition feeding for children (0-6 years) and expectant and nursing mothers by planning the menu based on locally available food and local recipes.
- To provide health and nutrition education and counseling on breastfeeding/ Infant & young feeding practices to mothers.
- To make home visits for educating parents to enable mothers to plan an effective role in the child’s growth and development with special emphasis on a newborn child.
- To assist the PHC staff in the implementation of health component of the Programme viz. immunization, health check-up, antenatal and postnatal check etc.
- To assist ANM in the administration of IFA and Vitamin A by keeping stock of the two medicines in the Centre
- To share information collected under ICDS Scheme with the ANM.
- To bring to the notice of the Supervisors/ CDPO any development in the village this requires their attention and intervention, particularly in regard to the work of the coordinating arrangements with different departments.
- To maintain liaison with other institutions (Mahila Mandals) and involve lady school workers and girls of the primary/middle schools in the village which have relevance to her functions.
- To guide Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) engaged under the National Rural Health Mission
- To assist in the implementation of Kishori Shakti Yojana (KSY) and motivate and educate the adolescent girls and their parents and community in general by organizing social awareness programmes/ campaigns etc.
- To assist in the implementation of the Nutrition Programme for Adolescent Girls (NPAG)
- To identify the disability among children during her home visits and refer the case immediately to the nearest PHC or District Disability Rehabilitation Centre.
- To support in organizing Pulse Polio Immunization (PPI) drives.
- To inform the ANM in case of emergency cases like diahorrea, cholera etc.
