Sri Vijaya Puram, Sept. 29: The Directorate of Social Welfare, Andaman & Nicobar Administration, is conducting island-wide awareness and community engagement programmes across all 720 Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) in the Union Territory as part of the 9th Rashtriya Poshan Maah, being observed from September 9 to October 8.
Spanning all five ICDS project areas—Urban (Sri Vijaya Puram), Ferrargunj, Rangat, Diglipur and Nicobar—the month-long campaign aims to reach households and communities across the islands, including remote and tribal areas, with a focus on improving awareness and promoting community participation in nutrition and early childhood development.
The campaign is anchored around the national theme “Hamari Anganwadi Hamari Jimmedari” (Our Anganwadi, Our Responsibility), with activities across all 720 AWCs centered on five key pillars viz. Dietary Diversity & Adequate Protein; Fresh Hot Cooked Meals (HCM; Community Ownership & Accountability; Early Childhood Care & Education (ECCE) and Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY).
The 720 Anganwadi Centres serve as frontline platforms for nutrition, early childhood care and maternal and child welfare. Through coordinated activities across South Andaman, North & Middle Andaman and Nicobar districts, the campaign seeks to strengthen access to nutrition education, health and growth monitoring, early childhood care and various Government schemes and services for mothers and children.
Field functionaries, including Mukhya Sevikas and Anganwadi Workers (AWWs), are leading community-level activities such as nutrition rallies, cooking demonstrations, health and growth-monitoring activities, awareness sessions and community outreach programmes in their respective areas.
The Directorate of Social Welfare encourages islanders to actively participate in Poshan Maah activities organized at their nearest Anganwadi Centre and support the collective effort towards improved nutrition, healthy childhood development and maternal well-being.
