Ranchi: As National Nutrition Week runs from Tuesday to September 7, Jharkhand is spotlighting nutrition measures for children, pregnant and lactating women, and adolescent girls, citing a drop in severe wasting among under-fives from 9.1% in NFHS-5 to 5.9% in NFHS-6.The state govt credits wider access to nutrition services, poshan tracker-based real-time monitoring and regular field visits. “Anganwadi centres remain a key part of the intervention, with more than 10.6 lakh children aged three to six years across 38,957 centres receiving hot cooked meals and one egg daily under the state scheme. More than 12.63 lakh beneficiaries are also provided take-home ration,” read the department’s official statement.Officials said reducing malnutrition needs coordination among health, nutrition, sanitation, education and social security departments, backed by community participation. The Strategic Action for Alleviation of Malnutrition and Anaemia Reduction (SAMAR) programme is being implemented in all 24 districts.The campaign will be followed by Poshan Maah from September 9, promoting balanced diets, breastfeeding, complementary feeding, hygiene, health check-ups and awareness of nutrition services among local communities across the state through anganwadi outreach drives.
