Lucknow, 19 Sept: Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, stated on Tuesday that the nutrition campaign is the cornerstone of a healthy and capable India.
Yogi Adityanath stated that there was a period when the liquor mafia supplied ‘nutritious food’ to Anganwadi centers in Uttar Pradesh, adding, “Our government has created a new mechanism through which women self-help groups are now delivering nutritious food to Anganwadi centers. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inspired the entire country to fight malnutrition by launching a widespread campaign,” he said at the National Nutrition Month program here on Monday.
“In Uttar Pradesh, a lot of effort has been done in this regard during the last six years,” he said.
The chief minister went on to say that encephalitis used to kill roughly 1,200-1,500 people in the state each year. This illness struck eastern Uttar Pradesh particularly hard. Between 1977 and 2017, about 50,000 children in the state died as a result of this condition.
The Chief Minister emphasized the significant improvements in the National Family Health Survey, stating that there has been a 5.1% improvement in anemia, a 6.6% improvement in dwarfism, a 7.4% improvement in underweight, and a 0.6% improvement in dryness between 2015-2016 and 2019-2020.
“After our government came to power in 2018, we began our efforts to eradicate encephalitis from the state through inter-departmental coordination with the Central government, and today we have been largely successful in our attempt,” CM Yogi remarked.
He also discussed the current decline in maternal and child death rates in Uttar Pradesh. “This became possible when mothers and children began to receive nutritious food. Our government will hold competitions for healthy boys and girls at Anganwadi, Nyay Panchayat, and block levels,” he added.
As this year marks the first year of the Azaadi ka Amrit Kal, CM Yogi stated that the government’s goal is to build India as the world’s third-largest economy by 2027. He stated that Prime Minister Modi has set a target of developing India by 2047, the centennial year of its independence. “For this, we need to make our country healthy, educated, and capable,” he continued.
Several pregnant ladies received medications and nourishing food items from the chief minister during the baby shower event. He also did Annaprashan Sanskar on newborns by giving them pudding.
In addition, the chief minister honored the parents of three children who transitioned from malnourished to well-nourished households as part of the ‘Sambhav’ program. He also gave four Anganwadi employees two sarees each as a mark of appreciation.
During the occasion, the chief minister dedicated/layed the groundwork for 1,359 Anganwadi facilities for Rs 155 crore. In addition, the foundation stone for 171 child development project offices worth Rs 50 crore was laid.
Furthermore, the CM released Rs 29 crore via DBT for uniforms (sarees) to 2.90 lakh Anganwadi employees and assistance.
