Press Release

Chandigarh, 11th March,2020: Poshan Abhiyaan intends to increase nutrition awareness among mothers of young children, adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women, family members (husbands, father, mothers-in-law) and community members about key positive nutrition behaviours.

 The month of March 2020, is the month of POSHAN Pakhwada and extensive IEC activities related to nutritional awareness are carried out at the grass root level.

An innovative Mehandi competition on the theme of 'Poshan' was organised at Mauli Jagran and Behlana, to spread awareness about the 5 SUTRAs of POSHAN - “First 1000 days of Child, Anaemia, Diarrhoea, Hand Washing & Sanitation, and Poshtik Aahar".

The strong message of creating a malnutrition free community reflected beautifully  on the Mehandi designes gleefully created by adolescent  girls, pregnant women and nursing mothers participating in the contests.

Message of Regular handwashing, particularly before and after certain activities, is one of the best ways to remove germs, avoid getting sick, and prevent the spread of germs among the community.

Awareness was generated among General public on Hygiene Sensitization by Doctors and ANMs at DMC Dadumajra Circle and Behlana, informing them about the role that clean drinking water, hygiene, and sanitation in maintaining good health. The message of eating plenty of iron-rich foods, eating and drinking vitamin C-rich foods and drinks to prevent Anemia was also reiterated.

A Health Camp to identify any early signs of health issues was organised by ANMs for pregnant ladies at Behlana.

A Poshan Ramp Walk of Healthy babies (0 to 6 months) with their mothers with a Healthy Smile, was organised at Behlana as an example for the community.

The highlight of the day was an evening Poshan Session at Ashiyana Children's Home, where the BMI of the children were taken, and the kids were given an educative session on nutrition and health. The kids came together to take the Poshan Pledge and signed up to help weed out malnutrition from our nation, before retiring to enjoy a truly refreshing and healthy evening snack - fruits.