North Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner RP Marak today launched the Poshan Maah, a programme to improve nutritional outcomes of children less than six years of age, adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating mothers in Resubelpara.
Speaking during the programme as the chief guest, Marak lauded the initiatives of the government in its aims to uplift the economic condition of the people through various welfare programmes. The focus of Poshan Maah is to improve the overall nutrition status of both children and women with the objective to spread the awareness of nutrition to every household in all the villages within the district, he said.
“For the people to be able to afford nutritious food their socio-economic condition has to be enhanced and therefore the government’s programmes are embedded in improving the wellbeing of the people,” Marak added. Citing an example of FOCUS+, an expansion of the government’s flagship FOCUS farmers programme, he exhorted the gathering to enroll under such programmes and avail the benefits being provided to them. The significance of Aadhaar enrollment in order to facilitate government’s assistance to the people was also highlighted.
Marak, while stressing the theme ‘Triggering POSHAN Panchayats for Poshan Maah’, which aims at involving village leaders as the central role in bringing more beneficiaries under the programme, urged the gathering to form village level standing committees, namely health councils, health sanitation and nutrition committees and employment councils to fight malnutrition.
Highlights of the programme were health screening of women and children, Nutri kit and vegetable seeds distribution to Anganwadi workers, and fruits bearing trees were also planted on the premises of the venue.
