Poshan Abhiyaan launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India in the year 2018 aims to achieve improvement in the status of nutrition of both children and women. The involvement of people in bringing behavioural change and inculcating the habit of a balanced diet through Jan Andolan and Community Mobilization are the two most important pillars to achieving this goal. PoshanMaah aspires to reduce stunting, under-nutrition, low-birth weight and anemia. Every year, the month of September is celebrated as POSHAN Maah in the Islands along with the rest of the nation.
The theme of the current year for the celebration of RashtriyaPoshanMaah is to activate Poshan Panchayat – making the Sarpanch and the Gram Panchayat at the village level as the fulcrum of activities, thus converting Jan Andolan into Jan Bhagidari.
Department of Social Welfare in association with Panchayati Raj Institutions and Line departments is organizing theme-based programmes like (i) Growth Monitoring of Children, (ii) Mahila&Swasthya (iii) Bacha & Shiksha -PoshanbhiPadhaibhi (iv) Gender Sensitive Water Conservation & Management (v) Traditional Foods for Women & Children in Tribal Areas and introduction of Millets.
On this occasion, I appeal to all the Islanders to make their valuable contribution in spreading the message of nutrition concepts and bringing behavioural changes in making A&N Islands free from malnutrition (KuposhanMuktDweep).
(Admiral D K Joshi)
PVSM, AVSM, YSM, NM, VSM (Retd.)
Lt. Governor, A&N Islands
& Vice-Chairman, Islands Development Agency
