Lakshmana Venkat Kuchi
This is one aspect of the much-talked
Gujarat Model that every state would do well to emulate – of an
aspirational district of Narmada -- loosely translated meaning a
backward and tribal district – which boasts of cemented roads deep
inside villages, doorstep delivery of drinking water, electricity, pucca
cemented houses, and all other visible signs of development.
In
fact, its progress and growth parameters of tribal beneficiaries,
women, and children, through collaborative programs of government and
UNICEF to improve maternal nutrition, birth outcomes and child’s
nutritional status appear to be bearing fruit.
As one discovers
while traversing through the length and breadth of the tribal dominated
district that sits on the banks of fifth largest river in the country
Narmada it is named after. During this journey, it is difficult to come
across a village that looks like a typical Indian village in a rural
setting peopled by tribals.
The village youth here in the
‘backward’ region compete with their counterparts from anywhere else in
India, what with their penchant for latest fashions that are very much
evident when one sees the kids – many of whom sport ‘designer hair
cuts’. The youth love their motorcycles and mobiles, like everywhere
else.
Nestled next to the country’s largest dams – the famous
Sardar Sarovar dam on Narmada, villages in this south Gujarat region
depend predominantly on agriculture, and now has become a tourist
attraction after hosting the World’s tallest statue of Unity dedicated
to the illustrious son of India, Sardar Vallabhai Patel who brought in
many princely states into the union of India after we gained
independence in 1947.
Over the years, this region too prospered,
though comparatively slower than the other regions that make Gujarat
the most industrialised and advanced states in the country and makes
Gujaratis known the world over for their enterprise, industriousness,
and business acumen. But what this aspirational district of the state,
along with Dahod, lacks in terms of prosperity it makes up in efforts to
make progress through developmental activities.
Which is why,
developmental agencies and NGOs, find working in Gujarat both easy and
challenging at the same time. Easy because of the bureaucracy’s approach
and attitude, but difficult because the developmental agencies must do
that much extra to find specific focus areas for development as most are
covered under this or that government programmes. In Gujarat, the
developmental agencies partner with Gujarat government on a host of
initiatives aimed at strategies related to child survival that include
WASH, Health, Nutrition and SBC.
As you traverse the region to
visit villages that are relatively remote and inaccessible during
monsoon flooding -- Gajargota, Nivalda and Kanbudi villages in Dediapada
block and Pratapura and Nava Vaghpura of Nandod and Garudeshwar blocks –
you will come across thriving Anganwadi centres that have become the
nerve centres of guided nutrition programs to help children, their
mothers and pregnant women and adolescent girls. What makes these
programs efficient is the skilful merger and marriage of initiatives
like weaving in MANREGA with PURNA (Prevention of Undernutrition and
Reduction of Nutritional Anaemia), Poshan Sudha in which one full,
balanced, nutritious meal is given to young mothers and pregnant women
besides free rations for a month. Here the Anganwadi workers integrate
essential nutrition and health services –where the pregnant women and
young mothers are given counselling on how to cook nutritious meals at
home.
If you speak to some of the beneficiaries like 15-year-old
Preeti D Vasava, one can find that her association with PURNA scheme,
as a Saheli (Anganwadi worker) had made a whale of difference to her. In
just three months, her nutritional status and Haemoglobin levels,
reported underweight and anaemic in June when she registered in June,
shot up to healthy levels in just three months. Similar have been the
experiences of pregnant women and their tiny tots who suffered medical
issues due to malnutrition, were saved and today are healthy – due to
the Poshan Sudha (for children between 0 years to 18 years).
What
the various health and nutrition programs – Poshan Sudha Yojna (one
full meal scheme), Doodh Sanjeevani Yojna, Early Childhood Development
Project, Integrated Management of Severe Acute Malnutrition program
(SAM), Mukhamantri Matrushakti Yojana, PURNA being undertaken with
collaboration between government of Gujarat, UNICEF and other NGOs –
have done is to make a real difference on the ground to the people who
need it the most (women and children, often who are the victims of
neglect).
What are the lessons for other states from the Gujarat Model?
It
is one thing to run the programs, but an entirely different thing to
monitor them to see they are being run efficiently and helping the
targeted beneficiaries. Now in this area, there are lessons for the
other states – as all the activities at Anganwadi centres can be
monitored online, and every ounce of food, milk, vegetables that comes
for beneficiaries can be tracked and accounted for. Data is uploaded,
almost in real time, enabling efficient monitoring of the programs, and
progress or lack of it in individual cases of beneficiaries – children
or pregnant mothers or adolescent girls. Their attendance, dietary
habits, changes in any of the parameters are recorded to generate a
wealth of useful data, that not only makes monitoring easy but also
forms the basis for all future designing of the welfare and development
programs.
Perhaps another significant aspect behind the success
of these health and nutrition programs is the commitment and dedication
of the Anganwadi workers, helpers and people associated with the
programs. Like say of an Anganwadi program officer, government of
Gujarat Women and Child development department, in charge for a district
who supervises some 100 centres in the district. Reasonably good
salaries and permanent work nature are incentive enough for them to
carry on with the tasks. Besides, they also know that their work was
being overseen and monitored by a robust system that was nearly fool
proof with enough checks and balances. This is another area where other
states can learn a thing or two in running development programmes.
Where
the schemes are making a difference in Gujarat is in a refreshing
change in approach in getting fathers to support pregnant women,
lactating mothers that requires effecting a change in the mindset of the
people – needing awareness creation and training, done by trained
development workers, government employees and contract volunteers.
Another
challenge that was overcome is in bringing about a change in the
thinking and actions of a mother-in-law, who are now more supportive and
cooperative when it came to their daughters-in-law in food they eat and
in how they rear the children.
Even the Early Childhood development with focus on first 1000 days approach, that is supporting a child from conception till the child is two years old -- is just what the doctor ordered, as the joint families of yore have crumbled to give away nuclear families and the young parents need all the support they need, in terms of advice and material too.
The success of these programs, I feel, is in
making these seemingly staid programs interesting and immediately useful
for the beneficiaries by the very design of these activities – like
Mother Support Group (monthly meeting of mothers), Counselling to Mother
in Laws, training fathers in parenting. Imagine the kind of work being
done by Anganwadi workers, helpers, and their program officers – from
running programs and growing kitchen gardens, for adding nutrition to
the food they serve to the women and children under their watch.
Lakshmana
Venkat Kuchi is a senior journalist tracking social, economic, and
political changes across the country. He was associated with the Press
Trust of India, The Hindu, Sunday Observer and Hindustan Times. He can
be reached on
[email protected] and Twitter handle @kvlakshman