POSHAN Abhiyan

Figure 1: No Copyright Infringement Intended

Context:

The Ministry of Women and Child Development has spent over ₹1,000 crore on its Poshan or Nutrition Tracker, but the data hasn’t been made public.

The Government has spent ₹1,053 crore on the Poshan Tracker or Information Communication Technology-Real Time Monitoring as on March 31, 2021.
Of the total,

₹600 crore was spent on procurement of smartphones;
₹203.96 crore on smartphone recharge and maintenance;
₹180.68 crore on incentives to anganwadi workers and helpers for using the technology;
₹68 crore on training.

Poshan Tracker data is not available in the public domain, unlike the MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi Employment Guarantee Act) data or the Health Management Information System (HMIS) of the Ministry of Health for monitoring of the National Health Mission and other health-related programmes.

The Poshan Tracker gives the Ministry daily data from 12.3 lakh anganwadi centres, with 9.8 lakh beneficiaries, including children, in the age of six months to six years, as well as pregnant women and lactating mothers.
It was set up with the aim of tracking and improving various services delivered at anganwadis and to ensure nutritional management of beneficiaries.

Poshan Tracker records real-time data, surveys such as NFHS come out once in few years, and there is a lag between when the data is collected and when the report is released.
Poshan Tracker data needs to be in the public domain as it is built from public money and involves public data.
Its availability will improve transparency and accountability.

POSHAN Abhiyaan is an overarching umbrella scheme to improve the nutritional outcomes for children, pregnant women and lactating mothers.
It does by holistically addressing the multiple determinants of malnutrition and attempts to prioritize the efforts of all stakeholders on a comprehensive package of intervention and services targeted on the first 1000 days of a child’s life.
It seeks to do so through an appropriate governance structure by leveraging and intensifying the implementation of existing programs across multiple Ministries while at the same time trying to rope in the expertise and energies of a whole range of other stakeholders – State Governments, Communities, Think tanks, Philanthropic Foundations and other Civil Society Actors.

It aims to reduce child stunting, underweight and low birth weight by 2 percentage points per annum and anaemia among children (and young females) by 3 percentage points per annum.
It is based on 4 pillars Ensuring access to quality services across the continuum of care to every woman and child; particularly during the first 1000 days of the child’s life.

Ensuring convergence of multiple programs and schemes:ICDS, PMMVY, NHM (with its sub components such as JSY, MCP card, Anaemia Mukt Bharat, RBSK, IDCF, HBNC, HBYC, Take Home Rations), Swachh Bharat Mission, National Drinking water Mission, NRLM etc.
Leveraging technology(ICDS-CAS) to empower the frontline worker with near real time information to ensure prompt and preventive action; rather than reactive one.
Jan Andolan: Engaging the community in this Mission to ensure that it transcends the contours of being a mere Government programme into a peoples’ movement inducing large scale behaviour change with the ownership of the efforts being vested in the community rather than government delivery mechanisms.

Osmanabad district has stood first in Maharashtra in implementing the Centre's 'poshan abhiyaan' and bringing down the number of malnourished kids as well as stunting among children.
The schemes were implemented by the child and women welfare department of the Osmanabad ZP through 'bachat gats' (self-help groups), Anganwadi workers, their officers and public participation.