Making It Happen, an initiative by Tata Trusts which had its roots in an MoU signed between Ratan Tata, Chairman of Tata Trusts, and the erstwhile Chandrababu Naidu government in 2015, has positively impacted the lives of 7.82 lakh beneficiaries till now.
The programme, initiated in Krishna, Guntur and Nellore districts, works towards refurbishing existing Anganwadi centres and implements a comprehensive nutrition programme that includes nutrition specifics and nutrition-sensitive interventions to improve maternal care, infant child mortality and young child feeding.
Extending requisite nutirition to newborns and kids has been happening at a slow pace in the country. According to UNICEF, Andhra Pradesh accounts for 38.4% of stunted children under three years of age, which is a manifestation of chronic under-nutrition.
‘1,000 days of life’
To get rid of malnutrition, the State government set up a ‘Nutrition Mission’ in 2016, aimed at providing adequate food intake to the mother and newborn for the first 1,000 days of life, starting from the mother’s pregnancy.
“If all mothers and their newborns receive adequate food intake within 1,000 days, stunted growth in the children under five years of age can be reduced by 40%. Any investment made on nutrition post this duration does not help the child’s growth,” said Sandesh Kotte, Programme Head, Tata Trusts.
“We have also launched products such as fortified milk, salt and rice, rich in vitamins A and D, which are essential in the formative years of the child’s growth,” he added.
The initiative, also known as Integrated Nutrition Programme, promotes elementary education in compliance with the government programmes, and has transformed 253 Anganwadi Centres (AWC) through infrastructure refurbishment.
“To make it look unlike government buildings, we have painted the walls with information and pictures which will help the child’s memory retention power. Besides this, we have also built play areas and child-friendly toilets for the kids,” said R. Rajendra Babu, Regional Manager, Tata Trusts.
Focus areas
Strengthening of the Integrated Child Development Services is also one key area that the programme focuses on. “One ICDS is meant to cater to 500 persons and these centres are run by only two people, i.e., the Anganwadi worker and their helper. ICDS plays a pivotal role in developing infrastructure and other necessary services. Hence, we request the government to give as much attention to ICDS as it gives to panchayat-level administration,” Mr. Babu said.
From April 2018 to June 2019, via the Making it Happen programme, Tata Trusts has trained 12,491 ICDS functionaries and built 253 AwCs that have benefited over three lakh children and mothers. Altogether 11,991 Anganwadi workers and 500 other ICDS functionaries in three districts have undergone capacity building in the form of 10 modules.
