Boiled eggs for 44,000 Aaganwadi children to prevent malnutrition

RAIPUR: Witnessing tremendous drop in child malnourishment in last five years through various beneficial schemes, Chhattisgarh’s Balrampur district hopes for better results than before as administration has made it mandatory to provide eggs to 44,000 Aanganwadi children as its pilot project. Children who don’t prefer to eat eggs are provided milk and banana once a week.
It’s apparently the first time that Aaganwadi children are bring served with boiled eggs once a week in order to prevent malnutrition.
Balrampur district collector Awanish Kumar Sharan initiated the programme of distributing eggs as part of pilot project from September as an experiment and it showed positive results in regards with improving health condition of children and attendance too.
Sharan has sanctioned fund of Rs 26 lakh from District Mineral Foudnation fr serving eggs to 44,000 children every Wednesday at all Aaganwadi centres and its mini centres.
Department of women and child official Bismita Patle said that during the recent ‘vajan tihar’ (weight festival) there were improvements seen in nutrition and health of children while the final result of percentage of malnutrition in district is awaited.
Balrampur recorded 31 percent of malnutrition in 2016.
Collector Sharan is hopeful of better heakth results among children.
According to Narendra Kumar Das associated to Right to Food in Balrampur the campaign is running successfully and children were taking interest in coming regulary to Aaganwadi centres but the scheme needs to be extended to mid-day meals served in schools as well to regularize attendance and ensure nutrition for children.

The routine food hardly provides healthy nutrition to children that they need between age 3-12 years, hence, egg, milk and banana essential food to be given for their proper development.
According to the recent data collected during Vajan Tihar, the average malnutrition rate among the children in the 0-5 years age group across 27 districts was found to be 30.13 per cent in 2016.
Das said that on Children’s Day this year, under the banner of the Right to Food Campaign Chhattisgarh launched an “Anda Do” (“Give Eggs”) campaign in the state. Eggs were provided in Mid Day Meals in many schools in Kanker, Koriya, Balrampur, Sarguja, Surajpur and Kawardha districts.
Eggs are desirable on the following grounds: nutrition, they have a long shelf life (unlike milk), cannot be adulterated (like milk or dal). Representatives from RTF Campaign and members of the community plan to meet Collectors in various districts and submit memorandums demanding inclusion of eggs in ICDS and school mid day meals.