POSHAN Abhiyaan is a multi-ministerial convergence mission with the vision to ensure attainment of malnutrition free India by 2022.
The objective of POSHAN Abhiyaan to reduce stunting in identified Districts of India with the highest malnutrition burden by improving utilization of key Anganwadi Services and improving the quality of Anganwadi Services delivery.
Its aim to ensure holistic development and adequate nutrition for pregnant women, mothers and children.
The Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) is implementing POSHAN Abhiyaan in 315 Districts in first year, 235 Districts in second year and remaining districts will be covered in the third year.
There are a number of schemes directly/indirectly affecting the nutritional status of children (0-6 year’s age) and pregnant women and lactating mothers. In spite of these, level of malnutrition and related problems in the country is high.
There is no dearth of schemes but lack of creating synergy and linking the schemes with each other to achieve common goal. POSHAN Abhiyaan through robust convergence mechanism and other components would strive to create the synergy.
Pillars of the Mission
- Convergence: The Abhiyaan is to ensure convergence of all nutrition related schemes of MWCD on the target population. The Abhiyaan will ensure convergence of various programmes.
- ICDS-CAS: Software based tracking of nutritional status will be done.
- Behavioural change: The Abhiyaan will be run as a Jan Andolan where mass involvement of people is desired. A community based event will happen once a month to create awareness and address issues.
- Incentives: Frontline workers will be given incentives for performance.
- Training and Capacity Building: Incremental Learning Approach will be adopted to teach 21 thematic modules. The training will be given by Master Trainers to frontline workers.
- Grievance Redressal: A call centre will be setup for ease of access to solutions to any issues faced.
Commitments to the ‘Poshan Abhiyaan’ in improving the nutritional outcomes in this population.
- Anemia Mukt Bharat:
It aims to reduce prevalence of anemia by 3 percentage points per year among children, adolescents and women in the reproductive age group (15–49 years), between the year 2018 and 2022. The strategy is to reach out to 450 million beneficiaries with specific anemia prevalence targets for year 2022.
- Home-based Young Child Care:
The HBYC programme has an objective to reduce child mortality and morbidity by improving nutrition status, growth and early childhood development of young children through structured and focused homevisits by ASHAs with the support of Anganwadi workers (AWWs).
