Anganwadi workers cook up nutrition ideas to fight anaemia across state

Guwahati: Integrated Child Development Schemes (ICDS) project, under the social welfare (women and children) department, on Wednesday held a recipe competition at Khanapara’s Farm Gate area in Dispur, among the anganwadi workers of Khanapara circle, to raise awareness about anaemia and malnutrition on the eve of ‘Poshan Maah’.

According to the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5), 68.4% children, aged between 6 and 59 months, in Assam are vulnerable to various forms of anaemia. Among them 36.2% experience mild anaemia, while 31.5% suffer from moderate anaemia and 0.8% are affected by severe anaemia. Additionally, it also affects more than 60% women between 15 to 49 years of age.

Child development project officer at Dispur circle, Kamal Kumar Sarma, stated that anaemia was mostly prevalent among infants, adolescents, pregnant ladies and lactating mothers, before adding that it could be cured through a healthy and balanced diet and nutrition. “There are variety of nutritious food that can be found in the local markets. Foods containing iron, calcium and protein is a must, especially for babies and pregnant women, and can be prepared with little effort,” Sarma said.

More than 20 dishes were prepared, including ‘Kaskol Bakolir Chutney’, ‘Bahor Gajoror Torkari’, ‘Posolar Torkari’, ‘Khichuri’, ‘Joan Pitha’, ‘Palak Paneer’, ‘Potolor Chutney’, ‘Rajmar Ghugni’ and ‘Xewali Phoolor Dali’.

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