Poshan Panchayats for nutrition awareness

Varanasi: Under the nutrition campaign of the ministry of AYUSH, Poshan Panchayats would be held in the tribal belts of Sonbhadra and Mirzapur districts to create awareness about traditional nutritious food.
Chairman of scientific advisory group -drug development, ministry of AYUSH and head of the department of ayurvedic pharmaceutics, Banaras Hindu University Prof Anand Kumar Chaudhary said that the members of village health sanitation and nutrition committee (VHSNC) and public will participate in the panchayat to discuss the ongoing activities, health and nutrition education, and remedial measures being taken. He said that the tribal people could not take locally available nutritional food due to lack of knowledge and awareness.
The POSHAN Abhiyaan (National Nutrition Mission) is the Prime Minister’s overarching scheme for holistic nourishment launched on March 8, 2018. Prof Chaudhary said that the ministry of AYUSH will also take special efforts in promoting the village level activities by roping in relevant stake-holders. Nutrition solutions based on traditional healthcare wisdom will be an integral part of the Poshan Maah celebrations during September.
According to him, the programme will focus on reducing the level under-nutrition and low birth weight in children, and anaemia in adolescent girls, pregnant women, lactating mothers as well as children. All the traditional medicine systems of India place emphasis on food and diet, and have sophisticated knowledge on the subject. The role for Ayush-based solutions in POSHAN Abhiyaan was mentioned in the joint communication sent to chief secretaries of all the states and UTs by the ministry of AYUSH, ministry of Panchayati Raj and ministry of women and child development on September 7.
One important part of POSHAN Abhiyaan is the early identification of children suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM). This early identification is important for timely initiation of treatment and minimizing the risk of complications. Experts from indigenous systems of Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani will be co-opted to provide guidance on good nutrition, complementary feeding. The Ministry of AYUSH will initiate and coordinate special measures for this, through the network of its autonomous bodies as well as through stake-holders like Ayush Educational Institutions.