SWASTH BHARAT PRERAK PROGRAM UPDATE

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Preraks’ support to Poshan Maah 2019

Poshan ke Paanch Sutra – Stories of change from the field

Breaking the margins

Social media outreach

POSHAN Abhiyaan, launched on 8 March

2018, is a watershed moment in India’s fight

against malnutrition. With a targeted approach to

reduce undernutrition among children, women,

and adolescents, the Abhiyaan adopts a life cycle

approach with greater emphasis on the first 1000

days (from conception to 2 years of age of a

child) through convergent efforts. Read more

A joint initiative of the Ministry of Women and

Child Development and the Tata Trusts, the

Swasth Bharat Preraks program supplements the

POSHAN Abhiyaan by providing managerial

and administrative support to the district and

state administrations for the effective

implementation of the Abhiyaan. It also provides

young professionals an opportunity to contribute

to nation-building by catalysing change at the

grassroots level. Presently, there are 317 Preraks

supporting the Mission across 317 districts in 27

states and 5 UTs Read more

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RASHTRIYA POSHAN MAAH 2019Special Edition | October 2019

PRERAK SUPPORT TO POSHAN MAAH 2019

This year, Poshan Maah focused on five critical

components - first golden 1000 days, anaemia

prevention, diarrhoea management, hygiene and

sanitation and paushtik aahar (wholesome meal

with diet diversity) - called the ‘Paanch Sutras’.

From poshan tyohaar last year, this year’s

Poshan Maah shifted gears to bring about

tangible behaviour change through ‘har ghar

poshan vyaavahar’.

The agenda was to educate communities on the

need for good nutrition and encourage them to

adopt appropriate nutritional behaviours.

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With the Ministry of Women & Child Development

as the nodal Department, the month-long activities

focussed on the themes of antenatal care,

anaemia, growth monitoring, girls’ education, diet, right age of marriage, hygiene and sanitation.

Multiple platforms across the country - food melas, rallies, school-level campaigns, anaemia test

camps, recipe demonstration, radio and TV talk shows and seminars were utilised to spread the

message of good nutrition.

The Swasth Bharat Preraks

helped design, implement

and coordinate key

activities. The cross-cutting

support provided included

training frontline

functionaries, community

mobilisation, social and

behavioural change

communications, and

leveraging technology.

IN THE FRAME

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Launch of Poshan Maah 2019

Activities on

First Golden 1000 days

Anemia Prevention

Test camps and training sessions

IN THE FRAME

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Awareness at the community

– Diarrhoea Management

Awareness activities at anganwadi and

school – Hygiene and Sanitation

Awareness activities at anganwadi and

school – Hygiene and Sanitation

These stories highlight how the key messages of Poshan ke Paanch Sutras are bringing about change

at the grassroots level. Under the leadership and guidance of District Collectors and local

administration, and with the active association of the communities, Preraks have supported in

delivering these important messages to communities for better health and nutrition-related outcomes.

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POSHAN KE PAANCH SUTRA

Stories of change from the field

The first 1000 days - from conception to the child’s second birthday offers a unique window of

opportunity to lay foundation for a healthier and more productive future.

Poshan Paheli: Retain, revise, recall, repeatPallavi Gautam, Gonda, Uttar Pradesh

With the vision of breaking the taboos surrounding

menstruation, Swasth Bharat Prerak Krati, under the

leadership of the district authorities, organised an anaemia

camp at Suraj Prasad Government Girls College in Jhansi.

Over 500 girls were screened, counselled and referred for

treatment, where needed. They were also given sanitary

pads and nutritious refreshment. To make the session

participatory and interactive, a movie was screened, and a

debate and quiz competition organised.

As Prerak, Krati rightly says, “If we have to create a healthy

India, it has to start with healthy women and young girls.”

FIRST GOLDEN 1000 DAYS

Pallavi, with the guidance of the district

administration, designed Poshan Paheli - an

interactive game, with focus on retaining, revising

and recalling of nutrition-related messages. It

involves the use of an earthen pot, which contains

questions related to themes under the 1000-day

window. Beneficiaries who gave correct answers

were awarded poshahar laddoos or dishes prepared

by the anganwadi workers.

The activity saw increased awareness and re-call

rates. “A surprising and unintended but welcome

outcome was the attendance of male members who

are now active participants,” says Pallavi.

ANAEMIA PREVENTION

Anaemia leads to low productivity in adults. In pregnant women, it results in increased maternal and

child mortality. In children, the consequences are poor motor skills and cognitive development.

T3: Test, Treat and Talk anaemia prevention and control campKrati Jain, Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh

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The discussion was meticulously planned around topics related to causes, treatment, prevention and

myths about diarrhoea along with the need for hygienic living spaces. “This unique experience-

sharing interaction helped reinforce the key messages for controlling and managing diarrhoea,”

shares Nirupama.

Nirupama also played an important role in ensuring regular supply of ORS and zinc tablets at the

anganwadis through convergence with frontline functionaries of the Department of Health and

Family Welfare.

Grandparents are key influencers in the households;

they play a crucial role in teaching grandchildren on

what is right and wrong.

POSHTIK AHAAR

Leveraging religious festivals to spread health and nutrition messages Prakash Joshi, Khargone, Madhya Pradesh; Kshitij Malani, Nandurbar, Maharashtra;

Sachin Sangle, Goa

During the Poshan Maah, Preraks from Khargone,

Nandurbar and Goa, worked closely with the district

officials to utilise Ganesh pandals as platforms for

reaching out to communities with messages on health

and nutrition.

In Goa, Sachin devised poshan utsav with Ganpati

Bappa. Anganwadi workers visited Ganesh pandals to

spread messages of health, nutrition, and sanitation.

Kshitij also organised an anaemia check-up camp at

one of the Ganesh pandals at Avage village of

Nandurbar district in Maharashtra.

DIARRHOEA MANAGEMENT

Diarrhoea is one of the main reasons for poor nutrition-related outcomes for children in the

country, often leading to devastating consequences.

Grandmothers know best Nirupama V, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu

Nirupama, Swasth Bharat Prerak from

Tiruchirappalli organised a unique gathering of

around 30 mothers and grandmothers at an

anganwadi at Project 1, Woraiyur urban block

under the guidance of the Child Development

Project Officer (CDPO).

In Segawa block, a tribal belt of Khargone district in Madhya Pradesh, Prerak Prakash Joshi supported

the district to leverage Ganesh pandals to encourage adoption of appropriate nutrition behaviour. A

nutrition seminar was also organised. The district collaborated with SHGs for preparation of

nutritional prasad for the devotees and seminar participants.

Consumption of a variety of nutritious food is vital for people of all age groups, especially for

women, children below 6 years of age, and adolescent girls.

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HYGIENE AND SANITATION

It is well recognised that poor sanitation and lack of access to clean drinking water leads to poor

health and nutrition-related outcomes. Ensuring optimum WASH practices is critical to improving

nutrition indicators.

In Kanker district of Chhattisgarh, about 8000

cases of diarrhoea were registered in 2017-18

for children aged 2-5 years. To address the

issue, Nanda, the Swasth Bharat Prerak from

Kanker, under the leadership of the district

administration, initiated a sanitation campaign

with a motivational tag line - ‘haath dhulenge

saabun se, rog mitenge jeevan se’.

With support from government officials,

anganwadi workers and panchayat members

Nanda organised meetings in 40 gram

panchayats, which saw active participation of

parents, children, and grandparents. The

importance of handwashing was discussed

along with a demonstration of the right way of

handwashing.

In addition, the use of ORS and zinc as an

effective diarrhoea control strategy was

highlighted, including the method of

preparing ORS and zinc doses. The initiative

was a major success; over 25,000 people

participated in these activities.

Haath dhulenge saabun se, rog mitenge jeevan seNanda Nandan Sarangi, Kanker, Chhattisgarh

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BREAKING THE MARGINSPOSHAN Abhiyaan places emphasis on ensuring equitable access to services and information to

bring about behaviour change. Leveraging Poshan Maah, Preraks, with support from district

officials, have made efforts to reach out to vulnerable and marginalized communities. A snippet of

select initiatives are captured in this section.

Poshan ka prahar, chamki nahi iss baarAmar Chandra Jyoti, Muzaffarpur, Bihar

On the occasion of Poshan Maah, Muzaffarpur

district of Bihar hosted a mass awareness

program with the twin objective of creating

awareness about nutrition and Acute

Encephalitis Syndrome (locally known as

chamki bukhaar). SBP Amar Chandra Jyoti

played an instrumental role in organising this

initiative which was a result of an effective

convergence between ICDS, Education,

Health and the Jeevika Bihar program.

With the slogan ‘Poshan ka prahar, chamki

nahi iss baar’, the team organised rallies,

sandhya choupal and nukkad naatak to educate

communities about keeping children safe from

undernourishment, weak immune systems and

fatal illness like AES. The events saw active

participation of the community, adolescents

and children, anganwadi workers, ASHAs,

school teachers, PRI members.

The month long awareness initiative was

successful in reinforcing the importance of

nutrition, especially in the initial years, as also

of clean and hygienic living conditions.

Turning around enrolment rates, one

child at a timeSakshi Singh Sirari, Shahjahanpur, UP

Sakshi Singh, SBP Shahjahanpur was

instrumental in mass awareness activity through

nukkad nataks on a regular basis, to deliberate

on the important issues of sanitation, adolescent

anaemia, early marriage and motherhood, and

menstrual health and hygiene. With the support

of the district and anganwasi staffs, Sakshi

organised nukkad natak in communities as early

as 7:30 AM in order to tap the adult male

population. At the end of each nukkad natak,

she involved frontline workers to conduct

counselling and informative sessions.

This behaviour change activity reached over

1500 people through 39 nukkad nataks in

September. With the efforts of a team of district

welfare officers, and sustained follow-up by the

anganwadi worker, 21 girls have been admitted

in the local government school. In addition, two

other girls (beyond the scope of Sarva Shiksha

Abhiyaan) have signed up for community-based

bridge courses at the local government school. In

view of the success of this activity, 100 more

nukkad nataks will be performed across

Shahjahanpur till end-October 2019.

SOCIAL MEDIA OUTREACH

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The fervour of Poshan Maah was

clearly reflected in the social media.

Committed to the cause and driven by

the need to create greater awareness,

Preraks shared key messages. They

also showcased the work undertaken

by the government, the frontline

functionaries and the Preraks

themselves during the Poshan Maah.