Swahar: Mother and child health millet-based nutrition project

Background:

India launched the ICDS (Integrated Child Development Services Scheme) in the year 1975 with the goal to fight malnutrition and delivery of health and nutrition services to mothers and children at their doorstep especially in the remote tribal and rural regions. Anganwadi centres were set up as a unit under the ICDS in every village to deliver health and nutrition services. It is one of the largest programs in the world to deliver health and nutrition services for mothers and children.

Current Need:

Supplementing the ICDS programme, to build efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery, millets will be included under this program by UW India as a key component of the meals provided to target beneficiaries. Year 2023 has been declared as the international year of Millets and UW India along with its ground partner is spearheading this idea by promoting healthy practices and educating on various millets as low-cost and nutritional superfood by taking inspiration from traditional roots of recipes made with millets.

Providing access to nutritious and milled based food which will go beyond nutrition, the programme will aid in the enrichment of the underprivileged children, pregnant and lactating women attending ICDS centers fostering optimal growth and development.

As part of the intervention, 435 AWCs would be adopted for the intervention for a period of 6 months. Each beneficiary will receive a traditional healthy food packet which would include millets such as Ragi, Sorghum and Pearl millet.

Beneficiaries to be covered: 4600 children, Pregnant & Lactating Mothers