Lok Sabha Question No. 2043 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-21
Subject: Rashtriya Poshan Maah
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: VIJAYSINH MOHITE PATIL, HEENA VIJAYKUMAR GAVIT, SUPRIYA SADANAND SULE, PRALHAD VENKATESH JOSHI, DHANANJAY BHIMRAO MAHADIK, JAYAKUMAR JAYAVARDHAN, P.R. SUNDARAM, RAJEEV SHANKARRAO SATAV

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2043

TO BE ANSWERED ON 21.12.2018

## RASHTRIYA POSHAN MAAH

2043.  SHRI MOHITE PATIL VIJAYSINH SHANKARRAO:

DR. HEENA VIJAYKUMAR GAVIT:

SHRIMATI SUPRIYA SULE:

SHRI PRALHAD JOSHI:

SHRI DHANANJAY MAHADIK:

DR. J. JAYAVARDHAN:

SHRI P.R. SUNDARAM:

SHRI SATAV RAJEEV:

Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the government has observed Rashtriya Poshan Maah recently, if so, the details thereof along with theme and focus of the event;
- (b) the amount earmarked and utilized for this purpose;
- (c) whether the event has achieved the objectives for which it was launched, if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether the help of community radio stations have also been taken to spread awareness about Poshan Abhiyan, if so, the details thereof;
- (e) whether  the  Government  has  also  launched  a  toll  free  helpline  to  address  queries associated with nutrition and malnutrition, if so, the details thereof; and
- (f) the other steps taken by the Government to bring down stunting in children in the age group of 0-6 years to 25 per cent by 2022?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (DR. VIRENDRA KUMAR)

- (a), (b) & (c):  Poshan Maah has been celebrated in the month of September, 2018 across the country  with  the  aim  to  sensitize  the  people  regarding  the  malaise  of  malnutrition  and also to make them aware of interventions available to tackle the ill effects. Poshan Maah witnessed a plethora of events and festivities at field level which accounted for more than 22 lakh activities leading to participation of 25 crore plus individuals across the country. The  real  time  dashboard  enabled  monitoring  of  the  progress  generated  a  healthy

competition  between  the  States/UTs.  One  of  the  most  encouraging  outcomes  of  the Poshan Maah has been the success in achieving convergence at all levels. The month logged 4.8 lakh converged activities across Ministries and 32% of all activities (22 lakh plus) were carried out by among field functionaries (AWWs, ASHAs, ANMs, SHGs). No funds were earmarked separately for celebration of Poshan Maah.

- (d): Yes, Madam, the Community Radio Stations (CRSs) proved to be an effective medium in building  local  content,  communicating  in  local  dialects,  and  connecting  with  remote communities. The Poshan Maah gave 100 Community Radios an opportunity to come together and demonstrate their strength and competence in disseminating information on issues of nutrition. Radio programmes, through a slew of innovative activities and exciting outreach events, the CRS's helped bridge the 'last mile connectivity' across the country to reach around 1.5 crore population.
- (e): Yes, Madam, the Government has launched a toll free helpline (14408) as a follow-up and intervention mechanism based on the identified indicators i.e number of underweight children in an Aanganwadi Centre, number of Severely Malnourished Children, Inactive Aanganwadi  Centres  and  Organization  of  Village  Health  Sanitation  and  Nutrition  Day (VHSND) by an Anganwadi Worker.
- (f): The POSHAN  Abhiyaan aims  to  reduce  malnutrition  from  the  country  in  a  phased manner,  through  the  life  cycle  concept,  by  adopting  a  synergised  and  result  oriented approach. The Abhiyaan will ensure mechanisms for timely service delivery and a robust monitoring  as  well  as  intervention  infrastructure. The  POSHAN  Abhiyaan  through  the targets will strive to reduce the level of stunting, under-nutrition, anaemia and low birth weight  babies.  It  will  create  synergy,  ensure  better  monitoring,  issue  alerts  for  timely action, and encourage States/UTs to perform, guide and supervise the line Ministries and States/UTs to achieve the targeted goals. Convergance, organising  Community Based Events, IEC and Advocacy, Jan Andolan, Incremental Learning training, ICDS-CAS etc. are core components of POSHAN Abhiyaan which will also help to bring down stunting in children.

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