Anganwadi workers’ strike: ‘State govt claim that ASHA workers are filling in is false’

Children at Maharashtra Nagar in Mankhurd have been relying on home-cooked food. (Express Photo by Narendra Vaskar)

With anganwadi workers on an indefinite strike across the state since September 11, health of children below six years and that of pregnant and lactating women have taken a hit, activists and villagers said. While no data has been collated yet on the strike’s impact on the health of children, the anganwadi workers’ union says the battle against malnutrition in the worst-affected districts would be severely affected as the protest continues and anganwadi centres remain closed.

Hanumant Jadhav, a resident of Borgaon village, 28 km from Latur, said: “As supplementary food is given in the anganwadi, my five-year-old son used to go there regularly. Now, in the absence of supplementary food, he has stopped visiting. Some children just go there everyday to see if they are giving the food. Then they come back home.” Jadhav added that the health of pregnant women is also being neglected owing to the strike.

In villages of Melghat region in Amravati, local people said there may be a rise in the number of malnutrition cases in the absence of the supplementary food, or a worsening of existing cases. “The supplementary food is a must for children and pregnant women in the village. There are several children with severe acute and moderate acute malnutrition. The situation has worsened after the strike, naturally,” said Lalita Bethekar from Katkumbh village in Chikhaldara tehsil of Amravati. She added that many parents were taking their children to work, as they have no place to leave them in the morning hours.

Bhagwan Deshmukh, who leads the anganwadi workers’ Mahasangh in Latur, claimed there has been no vaccination in many villages. “Although the government has asked the Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) workers to carry out the work of anganwadi workers, they are not able to do it. The ASHA workers do not have the list of children or pregnant women to provide supplementary food and help with health check-ups. The government’s claims that ASHA workers are filling in is completely false,” said Deshmukh.

He claimed that women, especially in slums of urban areas, were finding their daily income getting affected as well. “Anganwadi workers take care of children till 2 pm. So, many women who work as helps go to work during that period. Now, they are not being able to go and are instead, taking care of their children,” Deshmukh said. Shubha Shamim of the Maharashtra Anganwadi Workers’ Action Committee said the government should be blamed for any rise in the number of malnutrition cases or worsening of existing cases. “The government is responsible for the anganwadi workers’ strike. We have learnt that there are around 1,200 children who are at a critical stage, admitted to hospitals. The government will be responsible for any death,” said Shamim. She added that the Women and Child Development Minister, Pankaja Munde, has called a meeting on Tuesday. “But we will continue with our protest on Wednesday and the Shiv Sena president will address the gathering at Azad Maidan,” added Shamim.

There are 2,06,000 workers in the state’s 97,000 anganwadis operating schemes like providing supplementary nutrition and running health services for children and daycare for pre-primary school children.