How is Haryana Tackling Malnutrition and Anaemia?

Chandigarh, May 4 (NationPress) — The Haryana government has established a state task force aimed at overseeing and coordinating initiatives designed to eradicate malnutrition and anaemia among women and children. This decision was made during the sixth meeting of the State Convergence Committee under Haryana's POSHAN Abhiyaan, which was chaired by Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi.

The task force will include members from the Health, AYUSH, Education, and Women and Child Development Departments. It will be led by the Additional Chief Secretary of Women and Child Development and will convene every two weeks to ensure the efficient execution and oversight of the program.

Following the meeting, Additional Chief Secretary for Women and Child Development and Health and Family Welfare Sudhir Rajpal stated that the Poshan Abhiyaan is being executed with an emphasis on grassroots monitoring. This includes establishing Poshan Panchayats at the village level. To enhance local interventions, sub-committees of 10-15 women will be formed in gram panchayats, meeting monthly to oversee Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), conduct social audits of food quality, perform spot inspections at anganwadi centres, and engage in community health programs.

In line with the National Suposhit Panchayat Abhiyan, gram panchayats will be motivated to collaborate in reducing malnutrition. A strategy has been devised to improve dietary diversity through the establishment of Poshan Vatikas (nutrition gardens) at Anganwadi centres, schools, panchayat lands, and community areas.

The Horticulture and AYUSH Departments will provide plants, seeds (including medicinal varieties), and technical support, while the Horticulture Department will also plant fruit-bearing trees along public roads.

Under the Jal Shakti Abhiyaan, the Public Health Engineering Department is working to ensure universal water access for all anganwadi centres. Rajpal urged panchayats to actively assist in the upkeep and minor repairs of these centres.

Officials from the Panchayati Raj Department confirmed that each panchayat would allocate up to Rs 25,000 for repairs at each anganwadi centre. To enhance transparency and efficiency in ration distribution, the Poshan Tracker App has been integrated with a facial recognition system to ensure benefits reach only eligible beneficiaries.

The Mukhyamantri Dudh Uphaar Yojana has also been enhanced with the introduction of an online Management Information System (MIS) to track the supply and demand of fortified milk for children and pregnant or lactating mothers.

Furthermore, the Food and Supplies Department has been directed to investigate the feasibility of mandating the fortification of rice, wheat, and mustard oil sold in the state, as an additional measure to tackle nutritional deficiencies.

A Comprehensive Convergence Action Plan for 2025-26 has been submitted to the Ministry of Women and Child Development, detailing cross-departmental strategies to achieve nutrition objectives.

Rajpal noted that initiatives under the Poshan Abhiyaan have already produced significant outcomes, with the percentage of underweight children dropping from 29.4% to 21.5%, and stunting rates declining from 34% to 27.5%.