RANCHI: The government is all set to launch a high-intensity fortified food programme targeting children below 6 years as well as pregnant and lactating women by the end of this month.
The scheme aims to include children suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM). The government has decided to introduce fortified rice in the “hot-cooked meals” provided to children in the anganwadi centres (AWC) and in the ration given to pregnant and lactating women.
“We are working on the high-intensity fortified food programme which focuses on the kids and pregnant women. It will be launched by the end of this month,” said A Dodde, director, Directorate of Women and Child Development, Jharkhand.
“The aim is to introduce fortified rice in the rice component in a concentration fortification ratio (1:100) decided by the government of India on the advice of dietitians and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). It will be supplied by the government agency, Food Corporation of India (FCI). The government has also included protein-rich food like eggs, lentils, chana and groundnut to deliver adequate amount of protein, carbohydrate and fat to the kids and pregnant and lactating women,” said Mrutyunjaya Nayak, a Unicef volunteer.
Moreover, children suffering from severe acute malnutrition will also be included in the programme. “Earlier, there were no provisions for these children. The identified children will get the required protein and fat-rich diet,” Nayak added.
The government has also taken initiatives to reach out to the beneficiaries by keeping track on the anganwadi workers through a system of “Poshan tracker”. Developed by the ministry of women and child development, the Poshan tracker app enables real-time monitoring and tracking of all AWC, anganwadi workers (AWWs) and beneficiaries. “The idea is to provide an incentive of Rs 500 to AWWs once they have delivered the ‘take home ration’ (THR) to the respective beneficiaries,” Nayak added. The step was taken as various reports pointed out that THR distribution was highly uneven in the state.
