Chandigarh residents told about malnutrition, hygiene

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 11

A mehandi competition on the theme of ‘Poshan’ was organised at Mauli Jagran and Behlana to spread awareness about the five sutras of Poshan – “First 1,000 days of child, anaemia, diarrhoea, hand washing, sanitation, and poshtik aahar”.

Poshan Abhiyaan intends to increase awareness among mothers of young children, adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women, family members (husbands, father, mothers-in-law) and community members about key positive nutrition behaviours.

March is the month of POSHAN Pakhwada and extensive activities related to nutritional awareness are carried out at the grassroot level.

The strong message of creating a malnutrition free community reflected beautifully on the mehandi designs gleefully created by adolescent girls, expectant and nursing mothers participating in the contests.

Message of regular hand washing, particularly before and after certain activities, is one of the best ways to remove germs, avoid getting sick, and prevent the spread of germs among the community.

Awareness was generated among public on hygiene sensitisation by Doctors and auxillary nurse midwives at DMC Dadumajra Circle and Behlana, informing them about the role that clean drinking water, hygiene, and sanitation in maintaining good health. The message of eating plenty of iron-rich foods, eating and drinking vitamin C-rich foods and drinks to prevent Anemia was also reiterated.

A health camp to identify any early signs of health issues was organised by auxillary nurse midwives for expectant mothers at Behlana.

A poshan ramp walk of healthy babies (0 to 6 months), along with their mothers with a healthy smile, was organised at Behlana as an example for the community.

The highlight of the day was an evening Poshan Session at Ashiyana Children’s Home, where the body mass index (BMI) of the children were taken, and the kids were given an educative session on nutrition and health.

The kids came together to take up a ‘poshan pledge’ and signed up to help weed out malnutrition from our nation, before retiring to enjoy refreshing and healthy snacks and fruits for the evening.