The Department of Women and Children Development celebrated the fourth PoshanPakhwada from 21 March 2022 to 4 April, 2022 which saw about 3 Crore projects across the country. The previous Pakhwada in 2021 witnessed approximately 2.21 crore jobs. Strong engagement has been proven by its partner departments including Ministry of Jal Shakti, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Ayush, Youth Affairs & Sports, Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Education, Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Few Stories, Environment, Forestry and Climate Change, Electronic and Information Technology, Housing and Urban Affairs and the Department of Information and Broadcasting through Nutrition-focused operations across the country.
PoshanPakhwada 2022 was focused on two broad areas namelylength and weight of ‘benefit children up to 6 years’ and activities focused on Sexually Transmitted Water, Anemia and Traditional Foods for a Healthy Mother and Child in the tribal areas. One of Pakhwada’s key activities this year, focuses on Gender Awareness in Water Management which aims to promote women’s role in water management, conservation and management awareness through Poshan Panchayats and Women’s Groups.
Anganwadi Centers platform
Community engagement campaigns are one of the most effective strategies to spread conservation, protection and sustainable water use. This was done at the Anganwadi Centers platform. In this regard, Anganwadi Workers / Anganwadi Helpers are associated with focusing on ideas and the importance of water in the daily lives of children visiting Anganwadi Centers and pregnant women and nursing mothers.
In conjunction with the Minister of Jal Shakti, a number of activities were being carried out across the country as part of Pakhwada. These include, public awareness / panchayat on water conservation and management, awareness of IEC literature on water conservation, women’s workshops on water conservation and rainwater harvesting etc. The total participation under the Jal Shakti Department involved 22,31,64,045 people and 2,144 jobs in various parts of the country.
Similarly, the focus on Indigenous food for mothers and infants, especially in tribal areas, has been one of the key themes of Pakwada this year. To raise awareness of this, the Department of International Affairs focuses on EMRS schools with child nutrition awareness activities, local food promotion, POSHAN school awareness programs and teacher and parent collaboration, awareness of traditional plants that help provide nutritious food, and improve nutrition nutrition in EMR schools. etc. The total participation under the Department of International Affairs included 10,31,24,345 people with 904 jobs in regions / territories. The top provinces in this regard, were in the States of Maharashtra, Bihar Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka etc.
Speaking of ‘multidisciplinary activities,’ excluding activities that focus on overall nutrition, Growth Monitoring is still higher than 10% of jobs, followed by activities related to Breastfeeding, Hygiene, Water and Sanitation, Competitive Foods, the first 1000 days, ECCE, Bathing Hands and Sanitation, Prenatal Testing etc. According to some articles taken by PoshanPakhwada 2022, activities related to Anemia remain extremely high (including both Diagnosis, Treatment & Speech and Anemia under Poshan then 5 Sutra), followed by Sexual and Traditional Dehydration. Food for a Healthy Mother and Baby in International Areas. Approximately 6% of total activities focused on Ayush-focused topics including Health Yoga and Ayush Wellness.
The top ten countries in terms of jobs and participation reported during the Plaud period were Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.
