India is a home to traditional health care systems but still the menace of malnutrition is ruling the nation. The Central Government is working towards the collaboration of science and ayurveda to achieve optimum nutritional standards among the target groups. In this regard, on September 20, 2020, Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) inked Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) to control Malnutrition as a part of POSHAN (Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nutrition) Abhiyaan or National Nutrition Mission Abhiyaan of MWCD to improve the nutritional outcomes for children, pregnant women and lactating mothers.
- The MoU was signed by Ram Mohan Mishra, Secretary, WCD and Vaidya Shri Rajesh Kotecha, in the presence of Smt Smriti Zubin Irani, Union Minister for WCD and Textiles, and Shripad Yesso Naik, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of AYUSH, who joined the signing ceremony through videoconferencing.
- As a part of MoU there will also be a launch of hashtag #Ayush4Anganwadi for generating awareness about the activities on the digital media.
Areas of Cooperation under MoU:
- Integration of AYUSH into POSHAN Abhiyaan and under the Umbrella Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) program
- Control of malnutrition through the principles and practices of Ayurveda, Yoga and other Ayush systems.
Key Points:
-As part of collaboration, the Ministry of AYUSH provides support to the beneficiaries of Umbrella Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) program of the MWCD attending Anganwadi Centers.
-There will be establishment of Nutri-gardens (PoshanVatika) and medicinal gardens in every Anganwadi in near future with live demonstration to beneficiaries how to use them through various home-based preparations. Also, Yoga sessions in the Anganwadi Centers would be conducted.
-AYUSH would provide technical guidance and support for the implementation of various interventions including developing nutritious recipes based on regional and climatic preference.
-Initially, a pilot will be conducted in 1000 Anganwadi Centers each in few States, which can be upscaled later in a phased manner.
It should be noted that an Anganwadi worker who is providing the Ayurveda nutrition message to the community at ground level will be designated as ‘DHATRI’ – Dedicated Health Activist to Replenish the Innutrition.
Recent Related News:
i.On 13th August 2020, The Governing board of National Health Authority(NHA) approved the proposal to integrate the existing health schemes of the central ministries with the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) for employees, during the governing board’s review meeting on the implementation AB-PMJAY chaired by Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare.
ii.In order to give a major boost to the ”Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” campaign, on August 5, 2020, the state government of Haryana has launched two schemes, with a total outlay of Rs 256 crore, viz. launched “Mahila Evam Kishori Samman Yojana” to provide free sanitary napkins to girls and women of below poverty line (BPL) families, and initiated “Mukhya Mantri Doodh Uphar Yojana” to provide fortified flavoured skimmed milk powder to women and children.
