New Delhi: The Ministry of Women and Child Development organised TECH-THON for POSHAN Abhiyaan in New Delhi today. The seminar brought together various stakeholders from the Government, multilateral organisations, IT industry, myGov, UIDAI etc. Jan Andolan Guidelines were released in the Seminar.
Speaking at the Seminar, Dr.Virendra Kumar, Minister of State for WCD said that behaviour and mindset need to change in order to achieve goals of POSHAN Abhiyaan. He said that this Seminar shows that WCD Ministry, partnering Ministries and departments are all working and collaborating in mission mode to make POSHAN Abhiyaan a success. Speaking about the way forward, the Minister of State said that the Seminar was fruitful in collating various ideas on using technology for making POSHAN abhiyaan as Jan Andolan. He further said that convergence is the pillar of POSHANAbhiyaan and everyone needs to come together to make it a mass movement and achieve the desired goals.
Releasing the guidelines on making the POSHAN Abhiyaan as Jan Andolan, Dr.Rajiv Kumar,Vice-Chairman, NITI Aayog said that in order to make the Abhiyaan a real Jan Andolan and to make everybody a part of it, there is urgent requirement to converge various Ministries ,Departments, regional administration and workers at ground level. He said that this Seminar is a great initiative to bring together all stakeholders. He said that Intervention is most important for first 1000 days of child. He further shared that ICDS CAS is so powerful that it shows who’s being left behind so that everybody is covered. In September POSHAN month would be celebrated where all Ministries, departments and community will come together.
Sh Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Ayog complimented WCD ministry for the unique initiative of TECH-THON. He said that Nutrition is India’s biggest challenge and can be overcome with partnerships. He said that POSHAN Abhiyaan is complemented by a number of other schemes like PMMVY, introduction of rota virus vaccines, Anaemia Mukt Bharat strategy, Home Based Young Child Care.
Dr. Vinod K Paul, Member, NITI Aayog stressed that the focus of the POSHAN Abhiyaan would be on the first 1000 days of the child and preventive care for adolescent girls, women and mothers. He also said that Home-based Care for Young Child(HBYC) would be a crucial component of POSHAN Abhiyaan.
WCD Secretary Sh Rakesh Srivastava said that the POSHAN Abhiyaan cannot just be a Goverment programme but large number of people and communities are being involved for making it a mass movement- Jan Andolan. Mahila Shakti Kendra volunteers will help in making this a Jan Andolan, he added.
WCD Joint Secretary and Mission Director, POSHAN Abhiyaan, Dr Rajesh Kumar said that anemia and undernutrition need to be tackled together. He said that 1 rupee invested in nutrition gives 34 rupees as return.ICDS CAS is DNA of POSHAN Abhiyaan. Data entered by Anganwadi workers at ground level , is available to CDPO, District, State and Central level officers for monitoring in real time. In ICDS Dash boards, only anganwadi worker has the authority to edit the data. It is beneficiary centric system.
He said that currently ICDS-CAS is operational in 1 lakh plus Anganwadis and is expected to reach 5 lakh Anganwadis by September this year, 10 lakhs by December this year and all 14 lakh Anganwadis by March next year. It has High level of acceptance and consistently high usage by Frontline workers.He further said that Transmedia campaigns, community event every month, nukkadnatak etc. are to be done for making the Abhiyaan a Jan Andolan. Reach upto 11 crores is to be achieved through NRLM Self help groups, teachers, scouts, ASHAs, Anganwadi workers, Swasth Bharat Preraks etc.
Sh. V K Shunglu, former Secretary to the Government of India, said that structural connect at central level is very essential and technology will then act as real game changer. David Wilson from World Bank shared how convergent interventions are taking place.
Sh. Narendra Bhooshan,DDG, UIDAI said Aadhar has to work as an enabler, Requirement is to identify each and every child and there should be no duplicacy. He shared that WCD Ministry has huge role to play in identifying beneficiaries through Aadhar enrolment.
Sh.ParameswaranIyer, Secretary, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, said Sanitation has more impact on nutrition and that Studies have shown impact on overall health outcomes. Director, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare also shared the details of portals run by the Ministry. He said that they are developing Coordinated strategy for integrating RCH application with ICDS CAS of WCD ministry.
