Transforming nutrition in India: Poshan Abhiyan

POSHAN Abhiyaan is an overarching umbrella
scheme to improve the nutritional outcomes for
children, pregnant women and lactating mothers
by holistically addressing the multiple
determinants of malnutrition and attempts to
prioritize the efforts of all stakeholders on a
comprehensive package of intervention and
services targeted on the first 1000 days of a
child’s life. It seeks to do so through an
appropriate governance structure by leveraging
and intensifying the implementation of existing
programs across multiple Ministries while at the
same time trying to rope in the expertise and
energies of a whole range of other stakeholders –
State Governments, Communities, Think tanks,
Philanthropic Foundations and other Civil
Society Actors. It aims to reduce child stunting,
underweight and low birth weight by 2
percentage points per annum and anaemia among
children (and young females) by 3 percentage
points per annum. It is based on 4 pillars: