POSHAN ABHIYAAN

Subject : Government Schemes

Context : The National Nutrition Mission or the Poshan Abhiyaan, the world’s largest nutrition programme for children and mothers, must be stepped up to meet the targets set by the Centre to reduce stunting, wasting and anaemia by 2022, says a report by NITI Aayog.

Concept :

• POSHAN Abhiyaan (National Nutrition Mission) was launched by the government on March 2018.
• The Abhiyaan targets to reduce stunting, undernutrition, anemia (among young children, women and adolescent girls) and reduce low birth weight by 2%, 2%, 3% and 2% per annum respectively.
• The target of the mission is to bring down stunting among children in the age group 0-6 years from 38.4% to 25% by 2022.
• POSHAN Abhiyaan aims to ensure service delivery and interventions by use of technology, behavioural change through convergence and lays-down specific targets to be achieved across different monitoring parameters.
• Under the Abhiyaan, Swasth Bharat Preraks will be deployed one in each district for coordinating with district officials and enabling fast and efficient execution of the Abhiyaan across the country. Swasth Bharat Preraks would function as catalyst for fast tracking the implementation of the Abhiyaan.

National Council on India’s Nutrition Challenges

• Set up under the Poshan Abhiyaan, the Council is also known as National Council on Nutrition (NCN).
• The NCN is headed by the Vice-Chairman of the NITI Aayog.
• It provides policy directions to address nutritional challenges in the country and review programmes.
• It is a national level coordination and convergence body on nutrition.
• $200 million loan from World Bank will be used for implementing the National Nutrition Mission.