ICDS: More than half of children & women denied nutrition in Jharkhand

Credits: thehansindia

ICDS in Jharkhand: Jharkhand is among the top five states in the country with malnourished, including stunted, wasted and underweight children. In Jharkhand, 11.26 lakh children are in the age group of six months to three years and 15.78 lakh children in three to six years. While 7.21 lakh pregnant and lactating mothers are covered by 38,432 Anganwadi Centres.

In the first six months of 2021, more than a staggering 55% of the surveyed 18,288 beneficiaries of supplementary nutrition given to the most vulnerable section of society under ICDS, did not receive any benefits by the state even once. This report came to the public limelight on 5th July during ‘state-level public hearing and policy dialogue’ in the implementation of ICDS services under the Women and Children Development department conducted by the Right to Food Campaign and several other organizations.

What is ICDS?

Integrated child development services (ICDS) is an Indian government development programme that provides food, preschool education, and primary healthcare to children under 6 years of age and their mothers through Anganwadi services as well as through the Health Department. The scheme was started in 1975 and aims at the holistic development of children and the empowerment of mothers. It is a Centrally-Sponsored scheme implemented by the state. The scheme primarily runs through the Anganwadi Centre and is under the Ministry of Women and Child Development.

According to Ashrafi Nand Prasad of the RTF campaign, 10,372 beneficiaries did not receive any ration. He further said, “The minimum cost per beneficiary is ₹8 per day for hot cooked meals or THR and it has to be given for 25 days in a month i.e 200 per person per month. More than 35 lakh beneficiaries are supposed to be covered in a year which comes out to ₹70 crore in 12 months which is 840 crore. Now half-yearly it should cost around ₹420 crore. Extrapolating our survey findings to the entire state, i.e. more than 55% were not given ration even once in the first six months. It seems that the nutritional supplement worth more than 200 crores were not given to the beneficiaries.”

Beneficiaries & Age Group	No. of Beneficiaries
6 months – 3 years	7,809
3 years – 6 years	6,560
Pregnant women & lactating mothers	4,459

All beneficiaries out of 8,818 families surveyed in 159 blocks by the ICDS

In Jharkhand, 11.26 lakh children are in the age group six months to three years and 15.78 lakh children in the three to six years of age group, and 7.21 lakh pregnant and lactating mothers covered by 38,432 Anganwadi Centres. According to an IndiaSpend analysis of data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s National Family Health Survey, 2015-16 (NFHS-4) Jharkhand is among the top five states in the country with malnourished- including stunted, wasted and underweight children.

What are the objectives of ICDS?

The chief objectives of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme are:
1. To improve the nutritional and health status of children in the age group of 0-6 years.
2. To lay the foundation for proper psychological, physical and social development of the child.
3. To reduce the incidence of mortality, morbidity, malnutrition and school dropout.
4. To achieve effective co-ordination of policy and implementation amongst the various departments to promote child development.
5. To enhance the capability of the mother to look after the normal health and nutritional needs of the child through proper nutrition and health education.

What services does ICDS provide to its beneficiaries?

Integrated Child Development Services is Centrally-Sponsored but implemented by the state through the Anganwadi Centres and frontline health workers and provide the following six services to the beneficiaries:
1. Supplementary Nutrition (SNP)
2. Health & Nutrition Check-Up
3. Immunization
4. Non-Formal Education for Children in Pre-School
5. Health and Nutrition Education
6. Referral services