Parliament Question: POSHAN Abhiyan

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT LOK SABHA UN-STARRED QUESTION NO. 2128 ANSWERED ON 31.07.2026 POSHAN ABHIYAN

2128. SHRI RAM SHIROMANI VERMA:

Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

(a) whether the problem of malnutrition and anaemia among women, pregnant women, lactating mothers and children is still severe in aspirational and border districts like Shravasti and Balrampur in Uttar Pradesh, if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether special campaigns are being run by the Government under the POSHAN Abhiyan and other schemes for the prevention of malnutrition and anaemia in the said districts, if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether the Government has conducted any evaluation of the impact of these schemes, if so, the details of the reduction in the rate of malnutrition and anaemia therein; and

(d) whether the Government proposes to implement any new time-bound action plan to eliminate malnutrition and anaemia in the said districts, if so, the details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR)

(a) to (d): Ministry of Women and Child Development under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, has rolled out ‘Poshan Tracker’ digital application as an ICT based governance tool for monitoring and tracking of all beneficiaries on various indicators. Data of nutrition indicators among children under five in the aspirational districts like Shravasti and Balrampur of Uttar

Pradesh is available at the Poshan Tracker public dashboard:

https://www.poshantracker.in/statistics.

Prevalence of anemia among women and children in Shravasti and Balrampur districts of Uttar Pradesh as per National Family Health Survey-5 (2019-21) is placed below:Indicator National Balrampur Shravasti Average (%) (%) (%) Children aged 6-59 months who are anemic (<l1.0 67.1 75.4 61.2 g/dl) (%) Non-pregnant women aged 15-49 years who are 57.2 54.8 44.6 anemic (<12.0 g/dl) (%) Pregnant women age 15-49 years who are 52.2 38.1 41.0 anaemic (<11.0 g/dl) (%) All women age 15-49 years who are anaemic (%) 57.0 53.7 44.4 As informed by the State Government of Uttar Pradesh, following campaigns are running for

prevention of malnutrition and anaemia: • SAMBHAV Campaign: An intensive four-month campaign (July–September) focused on the identification, community-based management, and referral of children suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM).

• POSHAN-500 Initiative: A focused intervention covering the first 500 days of life to promote optimal maternal, infant, and young child nutrition. • "6 Mah, 7 Baar" Strategy: A targeted initiative for infants below six months of age through regular home visits, counselling of caregivers, breastfeeding support, and periodic growth monitoring.

• Poshan Maah and Poshan Pakhwada Campaigns: Annual nationwide Jan Andolan campaigns conducted to promote community participation and behavioural change for improved nutrition. These campaigns focus on maternal nutrition, infant and young child feeding practices, growth monitoring, anaemia prevention, hygiene and sanitation, nutrition awareness, and convergence among line departments through community-based activities and outreach programmes.

• Social Safety Net Linkages: Families of malnourished children are linked with various welfare schemes providing food security, WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) services, and livelihood support to address the underlying determinants of malnutrition.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare implements Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, child, Adolescent Health and Nutrition (RMNCAH+N) strategy in a life cycle approach under National Health Mission (NHM). This includes interventions to address nutrition concerns among adolescent girls, pregnant women, lactating mothers and children under 5 years, across the country.

Details are placed below:• Anemia Mukt Bharat (AMB) addresses the high prevalence of anemia through the 7X7X7 strategy covering seven beneficiary age groups and seven interventions through robust institutional mechanisms.

• Nutrition Rehabilitation centers (NRCs) to provide in-patient medical and nutritional care to children under 5 years suffering from Moderate and Severe Acute Malnourishment with medical complications.

• Mothers' Absolute Affection (MAA) Programme to improve breastfeeding coverage. • Lactation Management Centres to ensure availability of safe, pasteurized Donor Human Milk for feeding of sick, preterm and low birth weight babies admitted in Neonatal Intensive Care Units and Special Newborn Care Units.

• Under National Deworming Day (NDD) albendazole tablets are administered to reduce the Soil Transmitted Helminth (STH) infestation. • Village Health Sanitation and Nutrition Days (VHSNDs) are observed for provision of maternal and child health services and creating awareness on maternal and childcare including nutrition.

In 2021, the World Bank conducted a survey on Poshan Abhiyaan in 11 priority states with highest burden of stunting among children and anemia among women. The survey showed positive results, both in the delivery of services and nutrition practices.

Further, a third-party evaluation and impact assessment of Poshan Abhiyaan was conducted by NITI Aayog in 2020 and has found its relevance to be satisfactory for tackling malnutrition in the country. An outcome-based evaluation study of Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 was conducted again by Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office (DMEO), NITI Aayog

(2025). Evidence indicated that in its current form, Mission Poshan 2.0 represents the Government’s latest effort to holistically combat malnutrition and promote child development, by building on past programs with a converged and strengthened approach.

*****