Indian government launched the National Nutrition Mission in 2018 which is referred to as Poshan Abhiyan. Poshan Scheme is a large-scale government program in India that aims to improve nutrition across the country. The Poshan Scheme targets mothers, children under six years old, and adolescent girls.
By focusing on areas like balanced diets, anemia prevention, low birth weight, and hygiene, the program works to reduce malnutrition and improve overall health outcomes.
Poshan Abhiyan, also known as the National Nutrition Mission (NNM), is a special initiative by the Indian government aimed at ensuring proper nutrition for people across the country. It primarily focuses on improving nutrition for pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and children under six years old. The plan includes detailed strategies, such as:
The Poshan Scheme is a crucial initiative with the potential to significantly improve the nutritional situation in India. It plays a key role in ensuring the well-being and prosperity of all citizens, thus contributing to a healthier and more prosperous future for the nation.
The Poshan Abhiyaan Mission encompasses several key features aimed at addressing malnutrition comprehensively and effectively. Here are some of its prominent features:
Poshan Abhiyaan Mission Features | |
Program Name | POSHAN Abhiyaan (National Nutrition Mission) |
Launch Date | 8 March 2018 |
Target Population | Children (0–6 years), pregnant women, lactating mothers, adolescent girls |
Objectives | Reduce undernutrition, low birth weight, anemia, and stunting Reduce under-nutrition by 2% annually Reduce anemia by 3% annually Reduce low birth weight by 2% annually |
Helpline Numbers | Women’s Helpline: 181, 1091 Child Helpline: 1098 CA RA Help Desk: 1800-11-1311 Helpline for the Elderly: 14567 |
The Ministry of Women and Child Development has released Operational Guidelines for the implementation of ‘Poshan 2.0’. This initiative, sanctioned by the Government of India for the period spanning from 2021-22 to 2025-26 under the 15th Finance Commission, aims to combat malnutrition among children, adolescent girls, pregnant women, and lactating mothers. Poshan 2.0, an Integrated Nutrition Support Programme, introduces a strategic overhaul in nutrition content and delivery methods. It also establishes a convergent ecosystem to foster practices promoting health, wellness, and immunity.
To address existing gaps and enhance implementation, as well as to expedite progress in nutrition and child development outcomes, the components of the ongoing nutrition program have been restructured under Poshan 2.0. The program encompasses the following primary verticals:
The objectives of Poshan abhiyan 2.0 are multifaceted, aiming to:
Poshan 2.0 will emphasize Maternal Nutrition, Infant and Young Child Feeding Norms, Treatment Protocols for Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) and Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM), and Wellness through Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy (AYUSH) practices. Its focus is on reducing the prevalence of wasting, underweight, stunting, and anemia. This effort is supported by the introduction of the ‘Poshan Tracker,’ a robust ICT centralized data system, which is being integrated with the RCH Portal (Anmol) of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).
Poshan Abhiyaan has made strides in tackling malnutrition in India. Here are some of its key achievements:
These achievements highlight Poshan Abhiyaan’s positive impact on improving children’s health and well-being in India. However, the fight against malnutrition is ongoing, and the Poshan Scheme’s efforts continue to focus on further reducing malnutrition rates and creating a healthier future for generations to come.
Launched in 2022, Poshan Abhiyaan 2.0 builds on the successes of the original Poshan Abhiyaan program to further tackle malnutrition in India. Poshan Abhiyaan 2.0 aims for a more comprehensive and data-driven strategy to combat malnutrition in India, with a focus on preventive and holistic care for mothers and children. read the following below:
Since 2018, September has been celebrated as POSHAN Maah, aiming to enhance nutritional outcomes for children, adolescent girls, pregnant women, and lactating mothers. The month-long activities are centred around various aspects such as antenatal care, optimal breastfeeding, addressing anemia, growth monitoring, promoting girls’ education, advocating for the right age of marriage, emphasizing hygiene and sanitation, and promoting healthy eating through food fortification.
These activities primarily focus on Social and Behavioral Change Communication (SBCC) and adhere to the Jan Andolan Guidelines. SBCC involves strategically using communication approaches to promote changes in knowledge, attitudes, norms, beliefs, and behaviors related to nutrition and health.
Posha Vatika serves as a small plot of land where families cultivate organic fruits and vegetables, ensuring a steady supply of nutrition, especially for women and children, while also preserving soil health. Community GIS is a platform empowering communities to establish a spatial data infrastructure, featuring both a user-friendly frontend and a backend known as geonode. Its main objective is to educate users on spatial information and showcase how modern tools can address real-world challenges.
Catering to a diverse user base, from data contributors to analysts, Community GIS facilitates data collection, aggregation, access, analysis, and decision-making support. Notably, the open-source code of the front end allows anyone to replicate the technology without seeking permission from MakerGHAT. Data sources include the Census of India and the GISE Lab at IIT Bombay, with website coordination handled by volunteers, drawing inspiration from concepts such as ‘p2p governance’ by Bowens and Dr. Raghuram Rajan’s Third Pillar.
Poshan Abhiyaan Jan Andolan is a nationwide campaign launched by the Government of India in 2023 to raise awareness about the importance of nutrition and to promote healthy eating habits among all sections of the population. The campaign is based on the theme of “Nutrition for All: Together Towards a Healthy India.” The campaign is being implemented through a variety of activities, including:
The Poshan Abhiyaan Jan Andolan is a major initiative to address the problem of malnutrition in India. The campaign is expected to help improve the nutritional status of the Indian population and promote healthy eating habits among all sections of the population.
Poshan Abhiyaan Mission 2023, which stands as India’s flagship effort to enhance nutritional outcomes, harnesses the power of technology and inter-departmental collaboration. “Poshan,” derived from the program’s name, represents the acronym for the “Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nutrition.” The core objective of the Poshan Abhiyan Mission is to streamline various malnutrition-related initiatives and promote synergy through an ICT-based real-time monitoring system. It places significant emphasis on robust scheme convergence and offers incentives to states and Union Territories for effective implementation.
Poshan 2.0 is an improved version of the original Poshan, which was launched in 2018. The key differences between the two programs are provided below in the table:
Feature | Poshan | Poshan 2.0 |
Launch date | 2018 | 2022 |
Key focus areas | Stunting, wasting, and underweight prevalence | Maternal nutrition, infant and young child feeding norms, treatment of SAM/MAM, wellness through AYUSH |
Pillars | 4 (Convergence, Capacity Building, Jan Andolan, and Technology) | 5 (ICDS-CAS, Convergence Action Planning, Capacity Building of ICDS Officials, Jan Andolan for Behaviour Change, Innovations, Incentives, and Grievance Redressal) |
Key interventions | Anganwadi services, nutrition supplementation, behaviour change communication | Anganwadi services, nutrition supplementation, behavior change communication, diet diversity, food fortification, leveraging traditional systems of knowledge, use of millets |
Target beneficiaries | Pregnant women, lactating mothers, children under 6 years old | Pregnant women, lactating mothers, children under 6 years old, adolescent girls |
Budget | ₹9,746 crore (2018-2022) | ₹12,000 crore (2022-2027) |
Expected outcomes | Reduction in stunting, wasting, and underweight prevalence | Reduction in stunting, wasting, and underweight prevalence, improved maternal nutrition, improved infant and young child feeding practices, reduced incidence of SAM/MAM, improved wellness through AYUSH |
These goals are in line with the mission’s aim of reducing malnutrition’s main indicators and enhancing children, women, and adolescent girls’ overall nutritional status in India. By establishing these particular objectives, the NNM hopes to monitor and assess development in the fight against anemia, low birth weight, stunting, and undernutrition, ultimately working towards the objective of enhancing the general public’s health and well-being.
The Poshan Abhiyaan Mission rests on five core pillars that guide its strategy towards achieving its goals. These pillars work together to address malnutrition fully:
Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nutrition (POSHAN) Abhiyaan aka National Nutrition Mission was launched in 2018. POSHAN Abhiyaan was launched to provide good nutrition to children under 6 years of age, pregnant women, lactating mothers, and adolescent Girls. In 2018, the month of September has been celebrated as the Poshan Maah for generating awareness and promoting women and child healthcare.
The Poshan Abhiyaan Mission holds immense importance in India’s fight for a healthier future. Here’s why:
In conclusion, Poshan Abhiyaan goes beyond just addressing malnutrition. It’s an investment in India’s future, contributing to a healthier, more productive, and economically prosperous nation.
The Poshan Abhiyaan ICDS Common Application Software (CAS) serves as a central element of the POSHAN Abhiyaan initiative. This system provides Anganwadi Workers and Lady Supervisors with smartphones/Tablets equipped with pre-installed Common Application Software. This software enables frontline workers to efficiently collect data, while a comprehensive six-tier dashboard ensures effective monitoring and intervention mechanisms.
With the implementation of Poshan Abhiyaan ICDS-CAS, approximately 8.2 kg of paper registers have been replaced by a lightweight 173 gms smartphone. This innovative technology enables the crucial task of growth monitoring in children through the automatic plotting of growth charts within the mobile application. It further streamlines operations by auto-generating task lists and home visit schedules, allowing AWWs to prioritize beneficiaries effectively.
What is ICDS and its role in Poshan Abhiyaan?
Integrated Child Development Services (Poshan Abhiyaan ICDS) is an Indian government welfare program that provides food, preschool education, and primary healthcare to children under 6 years of age and their mothers.
Poshan Abhiyaan is a crucial program to understand for the UPSC exam due to its multifaceted impact on India’s social and economic development. By understanding the Poshan Scheme’s significance in public health, social welfare, and governance, and by critically analyzing its achievements and limitations, you can demonstrate a well-rounded understanding of this important policy in the UPSC exam.
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Having a budget of Rs. 1.31 trillion, Poshan Abhiyaan is a centrally sponsored programme that will be implemented for five years, from 2021–2022 to 2025–2026.
Ministry of Women and Child Development.
Prevent and reduce Stunting in children (0- 6 years) Prevent and reduce under-nutrition (underweight prevalence) in children (0-6 years) Reduce the prevalence of anemia among young Children(6-59 months)
Poshan Pakhwada 2023 will be celebrated on the theme, “Nutrition for All: Together Towards a Healthy India.
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