WCD asks states for nomination of spokespersons in every district for nutrition programme aimed to fight against malnourishment

New Delhi: The Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD)  has asked states to nominate nutrition spokespersons in every district to ensure consistent and mass local engagement of people in the country’s fight against malnourishment, an official said. [caption id=“attachment_3348600” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Maneka Gandhi. PTI[/caption] The spokespersons would be nominated for the ‘Jan Andolan’ launched by the ministry under the ‘Poshan Abhiyaan’, a programme aimed to improve nutritional outcomes for children, pregnant women and lactating mothers and to reduce the level of stunting, under-nutrition, anemia and low birth weight in children. The ministry wants the programme to become a mass movement which sees participation from all stakeholders, a WCD ministry official said. “The ministry has asked the states to nominate nutrition spokespersons, who would ensure consistent and mass local engagement at every district,” he said. The spokespersons would be tasked with spreading awareness on the issue of malnourishment and stunting, they  would also recognise and incentivise nutrition champions. “They would also mobilise private and public sectors for malnutrition-free panchayats,” he further added. The official said that in order to spread awareness, the ministry will use mass media to improve the reach of ‘Poshan Abhiyaan’. It would ensure free airtime to run advertising on nutrition during prime-time on DD Regional. The ministry will also promote broadcast of national programmes on nutrition and also develop new programmes for it. They plan to develop new programmes on nutrition like talk shows, local food or cuisine shows linked to nutrition and health on radio, he said. The ‘Poshan Abhiyaan’ has been tasked with bringing down stunting of the children in the age group of 0-6 years from 38.4 percent to 25 percent by the year 2022.