Odisha extends malnutrition programme to all districts

Odisha government today decided to extend its community management of malnutrition programme to all 30 districts of the state, official sources said.
The decision was taken at the Empowered Committee Meeting held under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary A P Padhi.
Padhi later said the programme would be implemented together with the department of health and family welfare. Women and child development department, UNICEF and Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives would also be partners in the programme.
The programme has successfully been piloted in the districts of Kandhamal and Bolangir.
Director of social welfare department D Prasant Kumar Reddy said that children with acute malnutrition would be treated with ready to use therapeutic food and energy density therapeutic food through Anganwadi centers.

Primarily around 4300 children have been identified as suffering from acute malnutrition, he said.

The state is focussing on infant mortality rate and maternal mortality ratio reduction strategies through a multipronged converged model where nutrition finds a prominent mention, Padhi said and directed the women and child welfare department to strengthen internal monitoring system and ensure cent percent flow of supplementary nutrition to the targeted group.
Around Rs 808.98 crore was earmarked for supplementary nutrition programme in the annual programme implementation plan of ICDS for 2017-18, he said.
The meeting also resolved that creche and day care facilities would be revitalized in the state.

Presently around 136 creche centers are functioning in Odisha and another 3629 AWC-cum-creche centers are proposed to be set up in the first phase during 2017-18, said women and child welfare department secretary Vishal Dev.