Chhattisgarh’s Initiative Towards Jan Bhagidari in Suposhan—"Potth Laika Pehel"
Author: UNICEF Chhattisgarh Field Office
In Chhattisgarh, a transformative initiative—Potth Laika Pehel (PLP, aka Healthy Child Mission), is transforming the fight against malnutrition. This initiative is a tripartite collaboration between the Rajnandgaon District Administration, UNICEF Chhattisgarh Field Office (as a knowledge partner), and Abis Pehel (as a CSR partner). This initiative aims to address child malnutrition through targeted nutrition counselling, behaviour change, and community engagement across 241 Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) with the highest number of undernourished children.
PLP’s Implementation Approach
The need for this initiative arises from the fact that despite rising incomes and literacy, malnutrition in Chhattisgarh remains high due to poor nutrition literacy, existing myths, and unhealthy habits. PLP bridges these gaps through behaviour change interventions and community participation, and for this, PLP followed a systematic implementation approach as follows-
Training Cascade: UNICEF’s Nutrition and Behaviour Change Wing trained block and cluster nodal officers (Health, WCD, and NRLM) as master trainers. Master trainers further trained Anganwadi Workers (AWWs), ASHAs, and Self Help Group (SHG) didis, who in turn educated the communities.
Community Engagements:
Paalak Chaupals (Caretakers’ Meetings): were held every Friday as part of the Village Health Sanitation and Nutrition Days. These sessions educated parents, pregnant women, sarpanches, panchayat sachivs, the elders in the community, and newlyweds. The sessions focused on healthy and balanced diets—what to eat, when to eat, and why it matters through simple activities like Tiranga Bhojan.
SHG Meetings (Bihan Chaupals): SHG women conducted nutrition counselling at the Village Organisation level and Cluster Level Federation.
Home Visits & Health Check-ups: ASHAs, AWWs, and youth volunteers (Yuvoday) provided personalised support during weekly home visits by offering nutrition counselling, monitoring children's growth, and tracking mothers’ weight. PLP involved 1,00,00+ SHG didis and 1000+ Yuvodays.
Resource Materials: Village Organisations, Cluster Level Federations, AWWs, ASHAs, SHG Didis, and Yuvodays used the Poshan Margdarshika toolkit to enhance health and nutrition awareness and capacity-building initiatives. The toolkit provided clear, contextualised, and replicable training and SBC/IEC resource materials.
PLP’s Massive Outcomes
With these efforts, within just six months, the initiative yielded remarkable results. Of 3413 children, 2136 (62.58%) recovered from malnutrition, and 12 Anganwadis became completely malnutrition-free in Rajnandgaon district. The impact of the initiative extended far beyond children, with 1,20,000+ individuals benefiting directly and many more indirectly through 8878+ Paalak Chaupals and 3600+ SHG meetings, fostering widespread community engagement and enhanced awareness.
PLP’s Promising Third-Party Evaluation Results
The Behavioural Insights Unit at NIT Raipur conducted a third-party evaluation to measure the initiative’s success and potential for scale-up. Researchers collected data from 500 individuals across 50 AWCs through surveys, focus group discussions, and interviews. They also gathered secondary data from government officials and staff to understand public perceptions. The preliminary findings of the third-party evaluation have been highly positive, reinforcing the initiative’s potential for large-scale replication. For instance, mothers of young children demonstrated a clear understanding of the causes and effects of child malnutrition, particularly the lack of a balanced diet. 92% of respondents attributed PLP to their awareness of the importance of exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months. Mothers reported significant improvements in their children’s physical and mental development post-PLP intervention.
PLP’s Potential To Be Replicated
PLP’s replicability stems from its core focus on behaviour change, achieved through targeted training and capacity building rather than providing extra foods/supplements, which could be costly and unsustainable. With zero additional cost, PLP leveraged existing human and monetary resources that are available in any district across India. Rather than implementing top-down solutions, PLP strengthened the capacity of various departments such as Health, WCD, and NRLM to ensure lasting impact. PLP’s scalable and cost-effective model provides a proven framework for enhancing nutrition literacy and reducing malnutrition. Districts across the state can easily adopt and implement this approach to drive widespread impact.
Have such stories, insights, or case studies on health, nutrition, WASH, child protection, or social behaviour change? We would love to hear from you. Reach out at arpita.d@zealgrit.com.
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