Poshan Pakhwada Marked By Rallies, Melas, Workshops To Spread Nutrition Message

 Cycle rallies, street rallies, poshan melas, workshops on nutrition in schools and Anganwadi centres, self-help group (SHGs) meetings on nutrition, anaemia camps, awareness camps on nutrition and sanitation, growth monitoring of children, tasty recipes…. All this and more marked the fortnight-long Poshan Pakhwada that concluded across India to take forward the National Nutrition Mission.

Poshan Pakhwada was celebrated from March 8-22 across many districts of the country to mark the first anniversary of Poshan Abhiyaan, which the government has launched to reduce low birthweight, stunting, under-nutrition among children and anaemia among children, adolescent girls and women. India is home to the largest number of malnourished children in the world.

The Women and Child Development Ministry, the nodal ministry for Poshan Abhiyaan, played a central role in organizing the pakhwada, which was launched on International Women’s Day.

Here are snippets of the various activities held under Poshan Pakhwada in several districts across the country:

In Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir, the programmes included ante-natal checkups, immunization, distribution of Vitamin A supplements, sessions on Menstrual Hygiene, breastfeeding sessions, and on the importance of Supplementary Nutrition.

In East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, haemoglobin tests were conducted on adolescent girls in order to detect anaemia. Doctors also encouraged the girls to eat a healthy diet. 

In order to give a push to Poshan Abhiyaan activities in Andhra, volunteers took out a rally and also staged plays and nutrition sessions to spread the message of nutrition.

In Chhattisgarh, a ‘Take Home Rations’ demonstration was organized as part of the Pakhwada, to educate mothers in making their children healthier and eradicating malnourishment. Cakes were baked from Take Home Rations at Anganwadi centres, and decorated attractively. Activities like Bal Choupal, and fancy dress competition were also held.

Young Poshan Champions conducted workshops in schools.

 In Goa, the importance of eating fruits and vegetables was stressed on among school children. At a fancy dress competition, students were made to hold large cutouts of their favourite fruit or vegetable.

In Dimapur, Nagaland, a cycle rally was organized to spread awareness  about the importance of nutrition. The rally helped spread awareness on a mass scale, the WCD Ministry said in a tweet.

 In Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh, in order to spread the message of healthy eating, a Haat Bazaar was held. Haat Bazaars are an integral part of rural communities. Fresh fruits and vegetables were exhibited at the haat bazaars, and many people bought the produce.

 In Burhanpur district of MP, awareness sessions on health and hygiene were held by conducting rallies and races. In Katni, fancy dress competitions  were held to spread the message of nutrition.

In Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, the enthusiasm of participants during the Pakhwada was high. The importance of nutrition was highlighted, and participants were motivated to keep a close check on maternal and child health. The health department also conducted over three lakh haemoglobin tests on adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers. 

In New Delhi, a 'Test and Treat' camp was held where haemoglobin tests were done on young girls to check for anaemia. The girls were also motivated to adopt a healthy lifestyle and consume adequate nutrition.

Screening and nutrition counselling of pregnant women was held at Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital where they were also taught how to make interesting snacks for meeting the extra demands during pregnancy.

In Assam, a cycle rally was conducted in Udalguri district to celebrate Poshan Pakhwada. In Dhubri district of Assam, a one-on-one nutrition and health coaching session was held with adolescent girls, where the Poshan Champions, or community elders, advised them about the importance of healthy diet and menstrual hygiene.

In Chennai, over 3,600 Anganwadi workers, health department officials and police personnel formed a human chain on March 12 to inform people about ensuring right nutrition for children, pregnant women and lactating mothers.

In Thana Chappar, a small town in Haryana, school children drew pictures on the importance of nutrition and hygiene as part of the Pakhwada.

In Chandigarh, counselling sessions on nutrition were held to create awareness on eating locally grown food and maintaining a balanced diet.

 In Hoshiarpur district of Punjab, entire families joined together to participate in the Pakhwada, where Anganwadi workers voiced the need for healthy diet for women and children. Anganwadi workers, attired in fetching purple salwar-kameez, also held cycle rallies to spread the message of nutrition.

In Namsai district of Arunachal Pradesh, stakeholders of the Poshan Abhiyaan organized a cycle rally from the forest check gate to Lathao primary health centre, and invited people to join the ongoing 'Pulse Polio Immunization’ Drive as part of the Pakhwada.

Pregnant women, lactating mothers and community representatives attended a hygiene and sanitation programme in East Kameng district.

In Yavatmal district of Maharashtra, gender sensitization workshops were held, and adolescent girls were explained about the importance of an iron-rich diet.

In Jalgaon district of Maharashtra, Poshan Champions demonstrated a variety of healthy dishes to spread the message of Eating Right and Healthy Living.

In Kachigam, Daman and Diu, a health check-up camp was held that was attended by many people. The benefits of good nutrition was also advocated among the people. 

Self Help Groups organized Rangoli sessions to educate the people about good nutrition and balanced diet in Uttar Pradesh. The message of Sahi Poshan Desh Roshan was spread across 39 districts of the state.

In Ghaziabad, young girls were sensitized on the importance of health and hygiene as part of the Pakhwada.

In Dhalai district of Tripura, drawing competition was organized for adolescent girls. A counseling session was held focusing on health of adolescent girls, on anaemia, menstrual health. 

In Kerala’s Malappuram, a cycle rally by small children was held to spread awareness and enthusiasm about nutrition. In Kannur in the state, men actively participated alongwith women in the Anganwadi centres with the messge ‘Stop Malnutrition’.