Role of Anganwadi Programme in Early Childhood Development

Anganwadi programme is an initiative of the Government of India focussed on early child care and mother care. It is a part of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS). Anganwadi centres are responsible to provide six main services i.e. supplementary nutrition, pre-school non-formal education, nutrition and health education, immunisation, health check-up and referral services. It is reported that currently, there are 14-lakh approved AWCs and 7,076 ICDS Projects across the country (Government press release, 7 February 2014).

To support and accelerate government’s efforts in providing proper child and mother care, The Akshaya Patra Foundation has undertaken Anganwadi feeding programme as one of its social initiatives.

Early childhood i.e. 0-5 years is a critical phase and children attain several developmental milestones during this phase. And, for proper growth and development, being healthy is an important factor, thereby making nutritious diet a must for these children. Heeding to this, Akshaya Patra strives to provide nutritious meals to Anganwadi children.

Akshaya Patra is an NGO in India implementing the Mid-Day Meal Scheme in association in the Central Government and various State Governments. It has been in the service of providing nutrition-rich diet to children since 2000. By doing so, the NGO aims at bringing children to school and supporting their education. By far, it has been able to benefit more than 1.7 million children across 12 states of India.

Since nutrition and health are two of the six main services of Anganwadi centres, the feeding programme in these centres take care of nutritional requirement of children during their early childhood. Nutrition is important in countering malnutrition, under-5 mortality rate, underweight, stunting, and other chronic diseases affecting children. Therefore, by implementing the Anganwadi feeding programme, Akshaya Patra aims at providing adequate nutrition to children aged between 0 and 5 years of age. Adequate nutrition during the formative years results in proper cognitive and physical development among children.

Healthy children attain their developmental milestones age-appropriately compared to nutrition-deficient children. Well-nourished children have better concentration levels and are more active, inquisitive, and interested in learning new things. These children are more confident and are more social too. These aspects form a strong foundation for future development and learning resulting in overall development of children right from the growing years.

Presently, Akshaya Patra is serving nutritious meals at 4,786 Anganwadi centres in nine locations of five states – Hyderabad, Jaipur, Baran, Vadodara, Surat, Ahmedabad, Vrindavan, Narsingi, and Warangal. The NGO has a beneficiary base of 1,61,410 young children and 6,410 pregnant and lactating women. The NGO wants to expand the Anganwadi feeding programme to more locations and for doing this it requires your support.

When you choose to donate to charity for this feeding programme, you will directly impact and support the health and nutrition status of millions of young children. Your contribution will enable Akshaya Patra to provide nutrition-rich meals to more and more children thereby paving way for a healthier nation. Well then, step forward and donate to charity and be the provider of nutrition for young lives.