The monthlong initiative aims to promote breastfeeding, fight anemia and deliver a hygiene message
In a concerted attempt to tackle India’s malnutrition, 13 ministries and government departments will observe September as the nutrition month, or Poshan Maah. Prime minister Narendra Modi will talk about nutrition in his Mann Ki Baat and the hashtag #PoshanMaah will trend on social media in a bid to make every household a celebration of nutrition. That is the theme of the month – har ghar poshan tyohar.
The partners for the initiative are Niti Ayog, ministry of women and child development, ministry of health and family welfare, ministry of drinking water and sanitation, ministry of Panchayati Raj, ministry of rural development, ministry of housing and urban affairs, ministry of human resources development, ministry of information and broadcasting, ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution, ministry of tribal affairs, ministry of minority affairs and ministry of ayush.
38.4% of India’s children aged less than 5 years are stunted (less height for their age), 21% are wasted (less weight for their height) and 35.7% are underweight
In March this year, India launched a Rs 9000 crore Poshan Abhiyaan that targets to reduce stunting, under-nutrition, anemia (among young children, women and adolescent girls) and reduce low birth weight by 2%, 2%, 3% and 2% 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% to 25% by 2022.
According to data from the National Family Health Survey 4, 38.4% of India’s children aged less than 5 years are stunted (less height for their age), 21% are wasted (less weight for their height) and 35.7% are underweight. Between 2005-06 and 2015-16 the percentage of wasted children went up from 19.8% to 21% and the percentage of severely wasted children went up from 6.4% to 7.5%, show NFHS data.
The monthlong campaign will focus on improving antenatal care, promotion of breastfeeding, fight anemia – an initiative called Anemia mukt Bharat will be launched – talk about the importance of nutrition for girls and the right age of marriage, and also promote hygiene and sanitation. Even festivats such as Janmashtami and Ganesh Chaturthi will have a nutrition theme in September.