Bharatiya Poshan Anthem launched by Vice President M Venkaiah

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu launched the ‘Bharatiya Poshan Anthem’ in New Delhi, which aims towrads taking message of making India malnutrition free to all corners of country. While launching, Vice president hoped that the ‘poshan anthem’ will lead to a nutrition revolution to transform India into a malnutrition-free country by 2022.

The anthem was conceptualised by Union Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD) and has been penned by noted lyricist Prasoon Joshi and sung by Shankar Mahadevan.

About ‘Poshan Abhiyan’ or ‘National Nutrition Mission’ (NNM)

It is flagship programme of Union government to improve nutritional outcomes for children, pregnant women and lactating mothers. POSHAN stands for ‘Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nutrition’.  NNM was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 8 March 2018 on the occasion of the International Women’s Day from Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan. It aims to make India malnutrition free by 2022 by ensuring holistic development and adequate nutrition for pregnant women, mothers and children.

Malnutrition in India:  According to the Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey 2016-18, about 34.7% of Indian children aged less than 5 are stunted. These figures are of grave concern and it is government’s responsibility to ensure that children get best childhood possible.

More than 12 crore women, over 6 crore men and 13 crore children were reached through various activities undertaken during POSHAN Maah in September 2018. Thus, it must be ensured that momentum is not weakening to achieve target of malnutrition free India by 2022.

Way Ahead

To ensure the best implementation of POSHAN Abhiyaan, there is an urgent need to establish coordination among various agencies, departments of both central and state governments. There is also a need to invest in training and capacity building of Anganwadi workers, this is because, the success of Poshan Abhiyaan depends upon collective efforts of all including optimum utilization of Anganwadi Services.

Government should focus on ensuring good quality, easily accessible and affordable maternal healthcare services for all women. Increasing people’s participation is also essential to ensure holistic development and adequate nutrition for pregnant women, mothers and children. Also, addressing girl-dropout from schools, preventing early marriage of girls, delaying first pregnancy and adequate spacing between births will contribute to better nutrition.

Month: Current Affairs - December, 2019