The government has sanctioned ₹18 lakh as the first tranche for implementing the 1,000-day programme.
The programme is being implemented in 11 project areas in the State.
An amount of ₹36,000 has been sanctioned for each panchayat in each project area.
The government has also issued orders that medical camps be held once in three months for pregnant and lactating mothers as part of the programme. As the 1,000 days from a woman’s pregnancy up till a child is two years old are crucial for the child’s physical and mental development, the government had rolled out the programme to reduce the number of children with low birth weight. Under it, pregnant women and those breastfeeding their children are given therapeutic food from Kudumbashree through the anganwadis. The programme was piloted in Attappady in the wake of an increase in infant deaths in 2013.
Last year, the government expanded the programme to 10 more project areas across an equal number of districts taking into account factors such as Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe population, fishers’ population, and the number of underweight children.
Apart from Attappady, the project areas – Vellanad Ranni, Muthukulam, Devikulam, Erattupetta, Thalikulam Nilambur, Mananthavady, Iritty, and Kasaragod – were selected on the basis of reports from the Integrated Child Development Services district programme officers on vulnerable areas in their jurisdiction.
At present, there are 5,200 beneficiaries of the project across the 11 districts. The first medical camp of the year is proposed to be held this month.
