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The month long-celebration witnesses over 26,190 activities with participation of 4, 21,367 individuals
Along with the rest of the country, Nagaland observed 3rd Rashtriya Poshan Maah as a part Jan Andolan, for addressing malnutrition amongst young children, and women and to ensure health and nutrition for everyone, from September 1 to 30.
The focus of this year’s National Nutrition Month was on identification of Severe Acute Malnourished children (SAM) and development of kitchen garden in Anganwadi Centres.
Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, many activities were conducted digitally including, online essay writing competition, painting competition, as well as webinars on the different themes, informed a press release the State Program Management Unit (SPMU), Rashtriya Poshan Abhiyaan, Department of Social Welfare (DSW), Nagaland.
A separate tab in the Jan Andolan Dashboard reflecting aggregated outcomes of the Poshan Abhiyaan with entries of all activities made on periodical basis at district, block and Anganwadi level were also activated.
The Jan Andolan Guidelines which are multi sectoral and cover 12 basic themes were utilised to activate various platforms at ground level, it said.
To create momentum towards nutrition at the state, district, block and village levels, DSW, Nagaland played a key role in implementing the various activities during the Poshan Maah in co-ordination with the various convergent departments, it added.
Marking the celebration, the launching of Poshan Maah was organised in all Angawandi centres and 60 project headquarters and districts of Nagaland on September 7.
Under the shadow of the COVID-19, it has been celebrated via digital means throughout the country and Nagaland has been very active in terms of number of participation with huge number of activities throughout the State,
Anganwadi workers stood in the frontline of celebration. Some of the actively converging departments included Nagaland State Rural Livelihood Mission (NSRLM), Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), Rural Development Department (RD) and Health and Family Welfare Department, the release said.
In doing so, several activities were carried out to sensitise masses towards adoption of healthy nutritional behaviour at the community level with the convergent departments playing key roles for implementing various activities, it added.
Major activities undertaken during the month long celebration included Poshan Panchayat, local leaders meetings, demonstration of handwashing in schools and Anganwadi Centers, youth leaders meeting including the church leaders, awareness camps for adolescent girls, mothers’ meeting, cleanliness drive in government offices, educational Institutions, and Anganwadi Centers, Village and Health Nutrition Day (VHND), home visits and cooking competition— preparation of nutritious food from the locally available foods, Poshan seminars, Community based events(CBE), and local food shows.
Innovative programmes such as the Poshan Clubs at village level and Poshan Youth Club were also established.
According to the release, social media platforms were also used extensively to propagate and generate awareness on nutrition. Animation videos on - anemia, exclusive breastfeeding, complementary feeding, ANC, importance of handwashing, breastfeeding and COVID-19 were made and circulated widely on social media. Radio documentaries, jingles and interviews on nutrition were done and aired on AIR Kohima, it said.
The Ministry of Women and Child Development Instagram account highlighted activities from Nagaland more than 25 times during the Poshan Maah 2020—the most from a single state all over the country, it added.
All together 4, 21,367 persons participated and 26,190 activities were conducted during the month-long celebration.
(MExN)
