Commited to improve the nutritional outcomes for children, pregnant women and lactating mothers, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched the month-long 4th ‘Poshan Maah-2021’ with Governor AnandiBen Patel on Tuesday.

During an inaugural programme held at Lokbhawan here, CM Yogi stressed the importance of observing nutrition month and said “if the mother is malnourished then the child can never be well-nourished and therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to the health of the mother.”

The Chief Minister in his address also urged every Indian to get associated with this national program stating, “When a mother or a child is malnourished then the problem is not only for a family but the whole society, the whole nation faces the challenge. These campaigns are not just for a mother and child, but it is a process of building a strong nation.”

The Governor and the Chief Minister released the ‘Shagun’ card (Goad Bharayi Card- to educate them about proper nutrition during their trimesters) and presented this card to 5 pregnant women on the occasion. A film on Poshan Maah was screened at the event. Mascot ‘Aanchal’ of the ICDS department was also inaugurated during the course of programme.

The Governor along with the CM also inaugurated the 529 newly constructed Anganwadi centres constructed in 24 districts of the state as well as Anganwadi workers and Asha workers were rewarded for their exemplary performance.

“Today, 529 Anganwadi centres have been inaugurated. Earlier, Anganwadi centres were run in rented buildings, but now with the efforts of the government, Anganwadi centres have been included as a priority in rural and urban areas,” he added.

CM Yogi lauded the ASHA workers and Anganwadi helpers for their determined and tireless efforts, especially during they COVID-19 pandemic, towards ensuring the overall betterment of women and children.

“These workers were going from village to village and taking samples of people amid pandemic, that’s why our government decided to increase the honorarium of ASHA workers and Anganwadi workers and their previous payment should also be made as soon as possible,” stated Yogi.

During the programme, the CM also distributed the appointments letters to the 10 of the newly appointed 90 Child Development Project Officers on the stage.“Today, these women officers are getting appointment letters in Uttar Pradesh. The recruitment process was completely fair. When the government is giving you a transparent recruitment process, then the government also expects excellent performance from you. You all need to work for the empowerment of our children and women and contribute to nation-building,” he said.

The entire month has been subdivided into weekly themes for a focused and assimilated approach towards improving Holistic Nutrition. which are Plantation Activity in form of Poshan Vatika at spaces available in Anganwadi Centres (AWCs), Schools, Panchayats and other public lands in the first week, while Yoga and Ayush activities would be organised in the second week.

In the third week, public awareness on local food and distribution of nutrition supplements will be carried out while in the last week, the department will identify the children in the category of moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) and severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and create mass awareness on nutritious food.

Speaking at the event, Governor Anandi Ben Patel said that this campaign should be celebrated as ‘Jan Andolan’ across the state. She suggested that the Anganwadi workers in the village can adopt one malnourished child each. Officers can do the same thing. This will bring a big change. She also asked the officers to work with full force with the government and take a pledge to make every village free from corona, free from malnutrition.

The Centre launched POSHAN Abhiyan in March 2018 to combat malnutrition. Since then, the month of September is observed as ‘POSHAN Maah’ with a view to carrying out dedicated activities ushering in behavioural change in the society.