Reviewing the preparations of the National Nutrition Month 2020 which begins on September 7, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath set the target to reduce malnutrition by one per cent in the next six months. The aim is to eradicate malnutrition among children and take special care of the health of the mothers. The Chief Minister also interacted with the parents of some of the most malnutritioned children through video conferencing. He also inquired about the health condition of children from the parents who have benefitted under the scheme which is already going on in five districts including Behraich, Balrampur and Shravasti. As part of the drive, the CM has directed the administration to provide cows and a monthly allowance of Rs 900 to the families of the most malnutritioned children.
The Yogi government has started the nutrition drive in the State as part of PM Modi’s Nutrition Month initiative. In his Man ki Baat address last month, PM Modi had declared that the month of September would be celebrated as a nutrition month. He also said the government would set up a nutrition bank and appointing a nutrition monitor in every classroom. The students will also get nutrition cards like report cards.
CM Yogi has given directions to the administration in relation to the nutrition drive. He has asked to identify children with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM). For this purpose, he has directed that a one-day drive should be conducted to note down the measurements of height and weight of children before the process begins. In order to incentivise the drive, he said that the best performing districts will be awarded. The assessment is to be made by March 2021 after 3-6 months of monitoring of the targets.
In order to ensure that the programme yields results, the CM had called for regular review of the programme. There will be a weekly review at the district levels followed by a review by the Commissioners. The Chief Secretary will review the programme in a month and the CM himself will review it in two months. Motivating the administration to make efforts to make the state top in the country, he cited how encephalitis was cured in Gorakhpur through pro-active endeavours. He directed the departments of Health, Education and Panchayat Raj to coordinate with the Department of Women and Children Development for this purpose.
“Nutrition should be a way of life for which it is important that all the ingredients needed for it must be in the reach of the people. Therefore, everyone should make it a habit to grow nutrition in the backyard”, he said. CM Yogi gave directions for setting up ‘Nutri Garden’ at community places including on the lands of government schools, residential schools, Anganwadi centres and Gram Panchayats. He said that every household should be encouraged to grow fruits, vegetables and medicinal plants and also engage in cattle rearing.