Odisha signs MoU with American Indian Foundation for development of children in Mayurbhanj

Bhubaneswar: To improve the health, nutrition and early childhood of education in Thakurmunda and Gopabandhu Nagar Blocks of Mayurbhanj District, the Women & Child Development Department has signed an MoU with the American Indian Foundation to implement an Integrated Programme for Children.

This Integrated Programme will strengthen the ongoing efforts of the Odisha Government by providing nutritious meals to children in the age group of 6 months to 3 years at Anganwadi centers, strengthening the skills of frontline and health workers for providing quality home-based care to sick children, strengthening the referral linkages for the timely referral of severely malnourished children and ensuring school readiness of under 6 children and train the headmasters, teachers to integrate sessions of mental health as part of school curriculum.

The initiative aims at substantial reduction in the prevalence of wasting and underweight children, also make them school ready so that they can successfully transition to schools. The intervention also aims to ensure that mothers’ caregivers provide nutritious food to their children and that children in the age range of 11 to 15 acquire mental health resilience skills to continue their education successfully.

This pilot intervention will reach 2.5 lakh community members, 20 thousand children under 6 years of age, 12 thousand adolescents in 388 anganwadi centres across Thakurmunda and Cabandhu Nagar Blocks of Mayurbhanj District.

Lauding the various Minister, W & CD department, Basanti Hembram said, “Providing hot cooked meals to children between 6 months to 3 years at AWCs, would have an edge over existing interventions. Strengthening early childhood education and mental health intervention for adolescents are also unique features of this pilot.”

Commissioner-cum-Secretary Subha Sharma shared that this program would improve the nutritional status of malnourished children, encourage pre-school readiness in children, and promote mental health & wellbeing among adolescents.

American India Foundation (AIF) has impacted 12.9 million lives across 35 States and Union Territories of India.