Port Blair, Sept. 6: Poshan Abhiyaan launched by Hon’ble Prime Minister of India in the year 2018 aims to achieve improvement in the status of nutrition of both children and women. Involvement of people in bringing behavioural change and inculcating a balanced diet habit through Jan Andolan and Community Mobilization are the two most important pillars to achieve this goal. Poshan Maah aspires to reduce stunting, under-nutrition, low-birth weight, and anemia. Every year, the month of September is celebrated as POSHAN Maah across the Island. The theme for current year celebration of Rashtriya Poshan Maah is to activate Poshan Panchayat- making the Sarpanch and the Gram Panchayat at the village level as the fulcrum of activities, thus converting ‘Jan Andolan’ into ‘Jan Bhaigidari’.

In this regard, a meeting was held under the chairpersonship of the Secretary (Social Welfare) with the line Departments to finalize action plan for celebration of 5th Rashtriya Poshan Maah from 1st  September, 2022 to 30th  September. Accordingly, Department of Social Welfare in association with Panchayati Raj Institutions and Line Department is organizing themes based programmes like Growth monitoring of Children, Mahila & Swasthya, Bacha &  Shiksha – Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi, Gender Sensitive Water Conservation & Management and  Traditional foods for Women & Children in Tribal Areas.

Apart from this, Poshan Maah is being celebrated  with  programmes like poshan rally, screening camps for identification of SAM & MAM children, tribal food fairs, conduct of traditional recipe contests in tribal areas, Anaemia camps for children, adolescent girls, pregnant women & lactating mothers on menstrual hygiene, diagnosis of juvenile diabetes, promotion of buddy mothers concept, training drives on nutri-farms, promotion of  millets,  backyard kitchen garden in AWCs, Yoga  session for pregnant women & adolescent girls in AWCs, Promotion of wellness through yoga, workshops on techniques of water conservation and management and rain water harvesting, PMMVY registration camp etc. in Gram Panchayat, AWCs, schools  and Villages from Sept.1 to 30, 2022.