Nutrition Mission: States used 56% of funds in last 3 years

On December 8, 2021, the Minister for Women & Child Development, Smriti Irani, noted in Parliament that, State Governments and Union Territories have used only 56% of the total funds released under Poshan Abhiyan or Nutrition Mission in last three years.

Key Points

• The central government highlighted that, out of total amount of Rs 5312 crore given between financial years 2019 to 2021, Rs 2985 crore was used.
• The five States & UTs where utilisation were lowest are:

1. Arunachal Pradesh (25.14%)
2. Puducherry (28.03%)
3. Ladakh (31.2%)
4. Punjab (33.62%) and
5. Uttar Pradesh (33.73%).

• Five States & UTs that made most use of the funds are:

1. Nagaland (98.34%)
2. Meghalaya (98.14%)
3. Mizoram (94.22%)
4. Sikkim (93.13%) and
5. Dadra & Nagar Haveli (88.2%).

What is Poshan Abhiyan?

Poshan Abhiyan was launched in March 2018 with the aim of reducing stunting, low birth weight, undernutrition challenges by 2% per year. It also seeks to reduce anaemia among young children, women and adolescents by 3% per year until 2022.

Poshan maah

POSHAN Maah is observed in the month of September since 2018, in a bid to improve nutritional outcomes for adolescent girls, children, pregnant women, and lactating mothers.

What is Malnutrition?

Malnutrition is referred to deficiencies, imbalances or excesses in a person’s intake of energy or nutrients. The term malnutrition addresses 3 broad conditions:

1. Undernutrition: Undernutrition includes stunting (low height-for-age), wasting (low weight-for-height) and underweight (low weight-for-age).
2. Micronutrient-related: It includes micronutrient excess or deficiencies.
3. Overweight: Obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases (like stroke, heart disease, diabetes and some cancers).

Month: Current Affairs - December, 2021