Rashtriya Poshan Abhiyaan - Chandigarh

For the Department of Social Welfare, Women and Child Development, Chandigarh Administration

The Rashtriya Poshan Abhiyan was launched by the Government of India to realise the dream of Sashakt Bharat - India unfettered by the shackles of malnutrition. The campaign was initiated in the U.T. Chandigarh with the launch of the Rashtriya Poshan Maah 2018 to spread awareness regarding nutrition. The team managed the campaigns of the Rashtriya Poshan Maah and Rashtriya Poshan Pakhwada from 2018 to 2022.

Key Achievements

• Rashtriya Poshan Maah 2018 - The Campaign was awarded two state-level awards: the Best Social Media Campaign Award, and the Maximum Reach Across All Themes Award
• Rashtriya Poshan Pakhwada 2019 - The Ministry of Women and Child Development, GoI asked the Chandigarh Administration to share their modus operandi and vision documents on Community Engagement Strategies employed for affecting a behavioural change in people to be used as Best Practises across States.
• Rashtriya Poshan Maah 2019 - Multiple components of the campaign, such as the Poshan Haats and Poshan Choupals set up across the city, received appreciation at the national level.
• Innovative social media campaigns, such as the "Each One Feed One Challenge were employed to draw attention towards the importance of nutrition.
• Rashtriya Poshan Pakhwada 2020 - The campaign quickly repositioned to the online mode in the wake of the Covid-19 Pandemic, with over 1200+ online events and sessions organised in a fortnight.
• Rashtriya Poshan Maah 2021 - A total of 97,000 events and awareness activities were conducted in the city in collaboration with the line departments in a span of 30 days.

Key Initiatives

• Mobile Anganwadi Vans were deployed at Anganwadi Centres.
• Poshan Marathons, Cycle Rallies, and Flash Mobs were organised to convert it into a Jan Andolan.
• Anaemia Check-Up Camps were organised across the city in addition to seminars and workshops on the same under the Anaemia Free Chandigarh Mission.
• Special camps were organised to raise awareness in the Indian Sign Language for persons with speech and auditory impairments.
• Engaging social media strategies like nomination challenges, etc., with extensive coverage of the organised activities on all media platforms, were initiated.
• A toll-free helpline service was initiated to provide the service of Suvidha, Sujhaav, and Shikayat to the citizenry.
• The Supplementary Nutrition Program was started.
• Kitchen Gardens were set up in all Anganwadi Centres to promote the consumption of vegetables, herbs, and medicinal plants.
• Poshan Mulyankan Cards were issued to SAM and MAM children to monitor their health.