BHUBANESWAR: Deputy chief minister Pravati Parida on Tuesday announced an increase in nutritional support for severely underweight children and breakfast allocation for anganwadi pre-school children.
Parida said the daily cost of supplementary nutrition provided to severely underweight children aged between six months and six years has been increased from Rs 8 to Rs 12. In addition, Rs 6 per child per day is being provided under the Mukhyamantri Sampoorna Pushti Yojana. As a result, the cost of supplementary nutrition provided to underweight children of this age group will be Rs 18 per day, she said.
Parida said around 35,000 severely underweight children will directly benefit from this enhancement. The state government will bear an additional annual expenditure of approximately Rs 10.7 crore for the initiative.
Besides, the daily allocation for breakfast provided to pre-school children in the age group of three to six years at anganwadi centres has been increased from Rs 1.24 to Rs 3.56. The state government will incur an additional annual expenditure of approximately Rs 126.83 crore towards this enhancement. These two initiatives will cost the government Rs 136.9 crore per annum.
Speaking on the occasion, Parida said the first 1,000 days of life of a child, from conception to second birthday, are the most critical for a child’s overall growth and development. The Women and Child Development department has developed a digital book in Odia that explains each stage of the first 1,000 days and the care required in a simple and easy-to-understand manner, she added.
She appealed to parents and family members to read and apply the guidance provided in the digital book in their daily lives. She expressed confidence that collective adoption of these practices would help realise the vision of eradicating malnutrition by 2036.