Assam: Hailakandi DC flags off POSHAN Abhiyan awareness rally
POSHAN has officially been launched in southern Assam district of Hailakandi.
Hailakandi
Partnerships and Opportunities to Strengthen and Harmonize Actions for Nutritions (POSHAN) has officially been launched in southern Assam district of Hailakandi.
Flagging off a POSHAN awareness rally at his office premises on Sunday, Deputy Commissioner Adil Khan said the nutrition campaign aims to reduce stunting, achieve improvement in nutritional status of children aged 0-6 years, adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers over three years, commencing from 2017-18.
Khan made a clarion call to the people of the district to actively participate in the campaign to make the district free from malnutrition by 2022. “POSHAN Abhiyan needs to evolve as a jan andolan (mass movement). From being a project of the government, it has to become a project of the people. It is our social responsibility to be a part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s overarching scheme for holistic nutrition for a malnutrition free India by 2022,” he added.
Khan exuded optimism that through robust convergence of various nutrition-related schemes and other components will help to create the synergy to achieve the common goal of a malnutrition free India.
Additional Deputy Commissioner, Amalendu Roy also spoke on the occasion. Circle Officers Tridip Roy, Madhumita Nath, officials of District Social Welfare and line departments were present. Scores of ASHAs, supervisors, ANMs and Anganwadi workers took part in the rally that traversed through the main thoroughfares of Hailakandi town before winding at the DC’s office complex.
The Ministry of Women and Child Development is implementing POSHAN Abhiyan in 315 districts in the first phase, 235 in the second phase and the remaining districts in the last phase in a time bound manner over three years, beginning from 2017-18.
The national nutrition campaign launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan on March 8 this year, aims to reduce stunting among children in the age group 0-6 years from 38.4% (NFHS 4) to 25% by 2022. It seeks to reduce the level of stunting, undernutrition and low birth weight by 2% each, and anaemia by 3%.
NITI Aayog will start ranking of states on the nutritional parameter under the government run POSHAN Abhiyan.
The Government of India signed a loan deal worth US $200 million with the World Bank for the POSHAN Abhiyan on May 7 this year.
