AYUSH Ministry, Ministry of Women and Child Development join hands to boost adolescent girls’ nutrition
New Delhi: The Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD), in collaboration with the Ministry of Ayush, has launched a special initiative to address anaemia and improve the nutritional status of adolescent girls in five selected ‘Utkarsh Districts’ as part of the September ‘Poshan Maah’ campaign.
According to the PTI report, this initiative utilises evidence-based Ayurveda interventions, including the administration of Ayurvedic medicines ‘drakshavleh’ and ‘punarnavamandoor’, to enhance the health and well-being of girls aged 14-18, the ministry said in a statement.
The districts to be covered include Dhubri, Bastar, Paschimi Singhbhum, Gadchiroli and Dhoulpur from the states of Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, respectively, it said.
Anaemia has been placed at the forefront of this year’s ‘Rashtriya Poshan Maah’, the nationwide nutrition awareness campaign spearheaded by the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD).
As a persistent public health challenge, anaemia predominantly affects young children, adolescent girls, pregnant women, postpartum women, and those in their reproductive years, making it a critical focus of the 2024 campaign, news agency PTI reported.
The period of adolescence is the right window of opportunity to correct any nutritional pitfalls in young adolescents to prevent intergenerational effects of anaemia on future generations, the statement said.
The WCD Ministry has collaborated with other relevant ministries and departments to prioritise anaemia-related activities, with the goal of raising awareness and driving actionable change, the statement said.
In a targeted effort, the Ministry of WCD said, in collaboration with the Ministry of Ayush, it is implementing a special initiative to address anaemia and improve the nutritional status of adolescent girls in the five selected Utkarsh Districts, adds PTI.
This year’s campaign aims to further harness the potential of adolescent girls to create a malnutrition-free India, complementing the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s ‘Anaemia Mukt Bharat’ programme, the release added.
