TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: More than 70,000 children between the ages of one and six years have benefited from the Department of Women and Child (DWC) nutrition schemes.
Much like the midday meals, anganwadis all over the State implementing the Integrated Child Development Services Schemes (ICDS) provide children and pregnant women the required levels of nutrition.
Speaking about the scheme, Director of DWC Deepali Naik said, “The nutrition programme for children and pregnant women aims at supplementing the nutritional intake of the child from birth up to the age of six. Pregnant woman as well as nursing mother avail of this programme which is implemented under the minimum need programme providing sufficient amount of calories and package per child per day. The child is provided with nutritious and protein packed diet of cereal and pulses,” she said.
So far the department has spend more than Rs 12 crore in the programme that has given 71,117 beneficiaries nutritious meals.
Under the nutrition programme dry take-home packets of cereals and pulses are provided to pregnant women and nursing mothers (till child attains the age of 6 months) at the rate of Rs 8 per day per beneficiary. The dry packets are also given to the children in the age group of 6 months to 2½ years, through the anganwadi centres at Rs 5 per day. Mal-nourished children are being given special attention by referring them to government hospitals/GMC and providing them dry packets or cooked nasta that costs Rs 9 per day per child.
Additionally children from the age group of 2 to 6 years attending anganwadi centres are given cooked meals containing cereals and pulses such as moog dal, masoor dal and gram dal. Food items provided also include moong usal, masur usal, chawli usal, sweet idli and dosa.
