WCD asks states to nominate nutrition spokespersons in every district: Official

The WCD Ministry has asked states to nominate nutrition spokespersons in every district to ensure consistent and mass local engagement of people in the country's fight against malnourishment, an official said.

The spokespersons would be nominated for the 'Jan Andolan' launched by the ministry under the 'Poshan Abhiyan', a programme aimed to improve nutritional outcomes for children, pregnant women and lactating mothers and to reduce the level of stunting, under-nutrition, anemia and low birth weight in children.

The ministry wants the programme to become a mass movement which sees participation from all stakeholders, a Women and Child Development Ministry official said.

"The ministry has asked the states to nominate nutrition spokespersons, who would ensure consistent and mass local engagement at every district," he said.

The spokespersons would be tasked with spreading awareness on the issue of malnourishment and stunting and would also recognise and incentivise nutrition champions.

They would also mobilise private and public sectors for malnutrition-free panchayats, he said.

The official said in order to spread awareness, the ministry will use mass media to improve the reach of 'Poshan Abhiyan'.

It would ensure free airtime to run advertising on nutrition during primetime on DD Regional.

The ministry will also promote broadcast of national programmes on nutrition and develop new programmes on nutrition.

They also plan to develop new programmes on nutrition- talk shows, local food or cuisine shows linked to nutrition and health on radio, he said.

The 'Poshan Abhiyan' has been tasked with bringing down stunting of the children in the age group of 0-6 years from 38.4 per cent to 25 per cent by the year 2022.