ICDS and SNP

ICDS after 2006

• Huge expansion in number of centres (6.1 lakh to 13.8 lakh)

• Increase in coverage

• Increase in per beneficiary allocations

• Many issues related to design and implementation raised in 2006 still relevant

• No data after NFHS-3 to assess what this expansion has meant (RSoC has some – report out, but data still not released)

FOCUS-POCUS Surveys – An Introduction

• The FOCUS survey was conducted in 2004

• FOCUS report in 2006, at the same time as NFHS-3 release as well Supreme Court orders on ICDS universalisation

• A follow up survey conducted in 2014

• Revisited same places as FOCUS survey

• Brief report of results in 2016 in POCUS report

The Surveys• 6 states from different regions

• 3 ‘Active’ States – Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh

• 3 ‘Dormant’ States – Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan

• In each state – 3 districts

• In each district – 2 blocks

• In each block – 6 villages

• Unannounced visits to AWCs, interviews with AWWs, AWHs, mothers of young children, observation

Main Messages• Overall, the improvements (e.g. in quantity and quality

of food supplements, maintenance of growth charts, regularity of child attendance) are modest.

• Still, the fact that quality improvements took place during a phase of rapid quantitative expansion is heartening.

• As quantitative expansion becomes less urgent, there will hopefully be greater scope for qualitative improvements in the near future

• Inter-state variations remain although Chhattisgarh and to some extent Rajasthan among ‘dormant’ states have a more active ICDS

• Among the ‘active’ states Tamil Nadu still the leader but Maharashtra is the star

STATUS OF SNP

SNP Norms

• Cost norms after Restructured ICDS enhanced to Rs. 6,7 and 9• Confusion on THR continues

Supplementary Nutrition – Quality and Quantity

• More mothers says that SNP is ‘very regular’

• Fewer are ‘dissatisfied’ with the quality

• Lesser feel that the quantity is inadequate

SNP services available

• Most mothers reported that supplementary nutrition is provided at the anganwadi centre

• There is an increase in mothers reporting that children are regularly weighed at the anganwadi centres

Sharing Food with Family

• Many still report that take home rations are shared with other members of the family (mostly other children)

• But there is a decline in this

The THR Conundrum

• No monitoring of the nutritional content of THR• Blatant violations of Supreme Court orders on banning private

contractors• With centralised production and supply, AWWs and

communities not aware of where the food is coming from, who is to be held accountable for gaps etc.

• Chhattisgarh, which is the state with the most decentralised system amongst the states in the survey, had the highest proportion of AWWs knowing who produces THR and where it comes from

Where do we stand now?

• Hot cooked meals where implemented well are doing better. Eggs are very popular

• The FOCUS-POCUS surveys, like many others, show that there is a need for a serious review of how we do THR/SNP for the under threes

• Government of India continues to give mixed signals – mainly moving towards packaged foods and centralisation

• Maneka Gandhi herself pushing for this (link)