Ayush
Ministry of Health and Ministry of Women and Child Development join forces to improve nutrition of adolescent girls through Ayurvedic interventions
The two ministries signed a memorandum of understanding on controlling anaemia in adolescent girls through Ayurvedic interventions.
Posted on: February 26, 2024 at 6:44 PM Posted by: PIB Delhi
The Ministry of Ayurveda and the Ministry of Women and Child Development signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Improving Nutrition of Adolescent Girls through Ayurvedic Interventions, a joint public health initiative on “Controlling Anaemia in Adolescent Girls through Ayurvedic Interventions in Five Districts under Mission Utkarsh” at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi today. The MoU was signed in the presence of Minister of State for Ayurveda, H.E. Mr. Sarbananda Sonowal and Minister of State for Women and Child Development, H.E. Ms. Smitty Irani.
The two ministries have jointly decided that in the first phase, they will focus on improving the anaemia status among adolescent girls (age 14-18) in five promising districts of five states, namely Dhubri in Assam, Bastar in Chhattisgarh, Pashmi Singhbhum in Jharkhand, Gadchiroli in Maharashtra and Dhaulpur in Rajasthan.
The Ministry of Ayush and the Ministry of Women and Child Development signed this Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today with an aim to improve nutrition of around 95,000 adolescent girls in anemia-prone districts (where the average prevalence of anemia is around 69.5%). The project will cover around 10,000 Anganwadi centres across five districts.
Addressing the gathering, Sarbananda Sonowal said that both the ministries are working together to make India an anemia-free country. An MoU has been signed between the two ministries to achieve the goal of ‘Anemia-Free India’.
Sarbananda Sonowal reiterated Mission Utkarsh, launched by the Prime Minister of India with an objective of reaching national averages of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in these aspiring districts.
Speaking on the occasion, Ms. Smriti Irani emphasised that the introduction of Ayush scheme, backed by evidence from institutions like ICMR, is a cost-effective solution to address anemia hitherto unknown to the world. She said that in addition to cost-effectiveness, the introduction of 95,000 beneficiaries and time-bound outcomes will provide an opportunity for the global medical community to study and consider, thereby making it an initiative of global importance.
“Adolescent anaemia leads to reduced physical and mental capacity and reduced ability to concentrate at work and school. It also poses a major threat to future safe motherhood for girls,” Health Secretary Rajesh Kotecha said. He noted that India’s traditional medical system is an integral part of healthcare in primary healthcare settings.
Indewar Pandey, Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development, said one of the key objectives of the Ministry of Women and Child Development is to address the issue of malnutrition among children, adolescent girls and pregnant women, for which it is running the ‘Saksham Aangambadi’ and ‘Poshan’ schemes. He said the schemes are being run with the support of 1.397 million Aangambadis across the country. The focus on girls between 14 and 18 years is important as they are more likely to have healthy children in future if they marry after 18. Ayush has conducted over 270 million Ayush-based activities under ‘Poshan Maa’ and ‘Poshan Pakwada’.
The Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) has good experience in this field. Besides conducting clinical trials, public health initiatives like a national campaign on controlling anaemia through Ayurveda conducted in 323 health centres across 13 states of the country and a multi-phase operational study on the effectiveness of Ayurvedic intervention in antenatal care (Garbini Paricharya) which resulted in changes in haemoglobin levels in a health centre in Gadchiroli district have already been successfully implemented by CCRAS.
The event was also attended by Prof Ravi Narayan Acharya, Secretary General, Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), Pushpa Chaudhary, Team Leader, Reproductive, Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health, WHO, Dr Rajeev Bahl, Director General, ICMR and other dignitaries.
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(Release ID: 2009186)
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