In a bid to facilitate knowledge exchange and strengthen collaborative governance with respect to the ongoing Early Childhood Development (ECD) mission, a delegation from the Women and Child Development Department of Odisha concluded their three-day exposure visit to Meghalaya yesterday.
The visit was aimed at gathering insight into the state’s best practices in terms of mobilising collective actions to improve nutrition status of SAM children through Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA) Approach, to observe and derive key takeaways from Meghalaya’s interventions in Early Childhood Development (ECD) and practices adopted under Poshan Abhiyan.
At a time when Odisha and Meghalaya are joining forces to share knowledge, experiences, skills and best practices in ECD, the visit exemplifies the importance of horizontal collaboration between states. By fostering this partnership, both states aim to enhance child well-being and nutrition through innovative approaches, a press release today said.
During their visit, the Odisha team along with the ECD programme managers, officials from the State’s Directorate of Social Welfare, CDPO and Lady supervisors visited Bhoirymbong (Lummawria and Umeit B) and Umrynjah Anganwadi Centre to observe preschool activities. They also visited the Amlarem block to observe the collaboration between MSRLS and ICDS for egg distribution in Thadlaskein through SHGs, where the SHG suppliers and egg beneficiaries were also present.
During the visit, Priyadarsini Mohanty, Technical Lead & Consultant (ECCE), Women & Child Health Department, Odisha expressed satisfaction with the activities in Meghalaya, particularly highlighting the distribution of eggs through Self-Help Groups (SHGs) at pilot centers, which she said was an interesting initiative and worthy of appreciation.
A meeting and sensitization program for the community and Faith based leaders was observed at Jarain Village in Amlarem Block where the team met with the Faith- based organizations in Amlarem and observed how the process of social and behavioural change in basic ECD and nutrition practices is being carried out in the state through collaboration with faith based leaders.
The team expressed appreciation of the state’s collaboration with faith based leaders and community institutions to strengthen their role in educating communities on the importance of Early Childhood Development, thereby bringing together Faith and Science towards the ECD mission fulfilment.
The Odisha team particularly commended Meghalaya’s inter-departmental convergence model under the ECD mission where 4 departments- Health, Social Welfare, Education and C&RD are working together towards attainment of ECD goals. They believe it could be a key takeaway for their state.
Priyadarsini applauded the coordination among the Health, ICDS, Education, and Community and Rural Development departments, emphasizing the need for a holistic approach, which she deemed as a unique initiative from Meghalaya.
While visiting an ICDS uncovered village at Laitkroh the Odisha team lauded the efforts of Community Gender and Health Activists (CGHAs) in distributing Take Home Rations (THR) in villages not covered under ICDS and stated that this was a State innovation worthy of recognition.
The POSHAN team from Odisha also visited recovered SAM cases in Laitkroh to learn how the ICDS officials and community members managed the cases through inter-departmental collaborative efforts. Later, the team also had a debriefing session with the Principal Secretary & Development Commissioner, Sampath Kumar and Director of Social Welfare Department, C.D Lyngwa.
