Punjab won 4 awards at "Poshan Maah Awards-2018"

The Social Security, Women and Child Development Minister, Punjab, Mrs. Aruna Chaudhary has congratulated 'Team Punjab' for the stupendous success in bagging awards in 4 categories at the POSHAN MAAH awards ceremony held in New Delhi.

Facts :

• The awards were presented by Dr. Rajeev Kumar, Vice-Chairperson, NITI Aayog under the aegis of Ministry of Women and child Development.
• The awards are being given in several categories . These include Field level functionary awards, awards for individual excellence, AAA(A++)Award, village convergence Award, leadership awards, State level awards for best social media campaign, maximum reach across all themes, best innovative use of non-conventional methods of spreading awareness on POSHAN among others.
• The awards are being given to sustain the momentum and recognize the efforts being put in at all levels as also to acknowledge the progress made by states in implementing POSHAN MAAH under POSHAN Abhiyaan.
• Ms. Apneet Riyait, Deputy Commissioner, Mansa was conferred District Level Leadership Award.
• Ms. Ravinder Pal Kaur, Child Development Project Officer, Sudhar, District Ludhiana was conferred Block Level Leadership Award.
• Ms. Dalbir Kaur, Supervisor, District Faridkot was conferred Field functionary Award (Individual Excellence Award).
• Ms. Bharpur Kaur, Anganwadi Worker, District Ferozepur was conferred Field functionary Award (Individual Excellence Award) award.
• The Poshan Abhiyaan targets to reduce stunting, under-nutrition, anaemia (among young children, women and adolescent girls) and reduce low birth weight by 2 percent, 2percent, 3 percent and 2 percent per annum respectively.
• The target of the mission is to bring down stunting among children in the age group 0-6 years from 38.4 percent to 25 percent by 2022.
• The Seven districts of Punjab Namely Ludhiana, Ferozepur, Mansa, Faridkot ,Tarantaran ,Moga and Sri Muktsar Sahib are covered under Poshan Abhiyaan.
• To achieve these targets, the abhiyaan aims to inculcate the habit of “Eat Right Eat Safe”.
• The month of September was celebrated as the Rashtriya Poshan Maah in the entire State. In this context a one-day State Level Orientation Workshop was also organised at Punjab State Health System Corporation Phase 7 Mohali.
• The minister said that the awards are a proof of the exemplary contribution made by the Punjab Government in tackling the issue of malnutrition with considerable success.
• Mrs. Kavita Singh credited the Social Security, Women and Child Development Minister Mrs. Aruna Chaudhary for this crowning glory for Punjab and said that the leadership provided by the minister and the guidance of the Principal Secretary, Social Security and Women & Child Development Department, Punjab, Mrs. Raji P. Srivastava led to Punjab achieving this milestone.

Analysis :

• To make POSHAN ABHIYAAN a Jan Andolan, frontline workers, community groups, Staff at Block and District level, State departments are undertaking exemplary efforts.
• Though POSHAN ABHIYAAN is being implemented in seven districts but the POSHAN MAAH activities were carried in all the 22 districts of Punjab State.
• The activities like Nutritional rallies, Suposhan Godh Bharayi, Vazan Tyohar (growth monitoring), awareness about breastfeeding, food fortification and micrnutrients, diarrhoea, Hygiene, water and sanitaion, anaemia, etc. were carried out with the close convergence of the Health, Rural and Panchayati Raj, Water and Sanitation, Sports and Youth Affairs departments at Anganwadi Centres at Village, Block, District and State level.
• During POSHAN MAAH in Vazan Tyohar (Growth Monitoring) all children enrolled in the Anganwadi Centres were weighed.
• As per Jan Andolan Poshan Dash Board, about 5 lakh people were involved in the various activities of POSHAN like Nutrition, Health, Water and Sanitation, Hygiene, etc.

POSHAN Abhiyaan :

• POSHAN Abhiyaan (Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nutrition) was launched in Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan in March 2018. It aims to ensure holistic development and adequate nutrition for pregnant women, mothers and children.
• It targets to reduce level of under-nutrition and other related problems by ensuring convergence of various nutrition related schemes. It also targets stunting, under-nutrition, anaemia (among young children, women and adolescent girls) and low birth rate. It will monitor and review implementation of all such schemes and utilize existing structural arrangements of line ministries wherever available.
• Its large component involves gradual scaling-up of the interventions supported by ongoing World Bank assisted Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Systems Strengthening and Nutrition Improvement Project (ISSNIP) to all districts in the country by 2022.

Rashtriya Poshan Maah :

• The National Nutrition Month (Rashtriya Poshan Maah) is being celebrated across the country in September 2018 to mark fight against malnutrition. Union Ministry of Women and Child Development are spearheading various programmes during this month to spread broad awareness on issues related to malnutrition like stunting, under-nutrition, anaemia and low birth weight in children.
• The National Nutrition Month will also focus on adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers to eliminate the deficiencies prevailing in the Health sector.
  Ministry of Women and Child Development is working on eight focused themes like optimal breast feeding, growth monitoring, food fortification and girls’ education, hygiene and sanitation, diet and marriage at right age etc. to achieve improvement in nutritional status of children, adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers.
• It is also trying to reach about 11 crore women and children during this month through various grass-root activities, with the convergence of different ministries.

Background :

• The decision to celebrate September as the National Nutrition Month every year was taken during the second meeting of National Council on India’s Nutrition Challenges under Poshan Abhiyaan (Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nutrition) held in July 2018.
• POSHAN Abhiyaan- the National Nutrition Mission was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March 2018 in Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan with aim to bring down stunting of children in age group of 0-6 years from 38% to 25% by 2022.
   

By: Harman Sandhu