Hyderabad, March 28: The Women Development and Child Welfare Department has decided to increase the nutritional food centres to 4,000 by July this year from the existing 2,065. Enrolment of women and children into the centre has already commenced on experimental basis in 123 centres across the State.
The government has already planned to provide nutritious food to pregnant women, new mothers and children from poor families, conduct regular health check-up for them and offer education. Nutrition Health Day will be celebrated once in a month in these centres, when the sub-committees comprising ANM, Anganwadi Worker and Village Organiser (Rural Development Department) visit the centres.
The decision to increase the nutritional food centres was taken at joint meeting of Women and Child Welfare, Medical and Health and Rural Development Department officials convened by the Minister for Women Development and Child Welfare V. Sunitha Laxma Reddy here on Sunday.
The Minister directed the officials to enrol at least 10 to 15 women and 10 to 12 children in every nutritional food centre.
She offered the Rural Development Department to utilise the Mahila Pranganams working under her Department by the Mahila Samkhyas. She asked the officials to suggest how the Pranganams would help the Samakhyas to improve their economic activities.
The Minister asked the officials of all the three departments to work in coordination for the success of the nutritional food and other programmes.
Principal Secretary of Rural Development R. Subramanyam, Principal Secretary of Women and Child Welfare Chaya Ratan, Chief Executive Officer of Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP) B. Rajasekhar, Director of Women and Child Welfare Usha Rani and others participated in the meeting.
–Agencies