The Himachal Pradesh government is set to roll out the Indira Gandhi Matri Shishu Sankalp Yojna (IGMSSY) with a financial outlay of ₹207.11 crore to strengthen women and child healthcare services and address malnutrition across the state.
The scheme will target children below six years of age, pregnant women and lactating mothers, with a focus on improving access to high-quality protein, adequate calories and essential micronutrients. Nearly 2,99,488 beneficiaries are expected to be covered under the initiative.
Designed to tackle intergenerational malnutrition, the programme will concentrate on the critical first 1,000 days of life through coordinated nutrition, health and caregiving interventions. It also aims to reduce child mortality and morbidity while improving overall nutritional indicators in the state.
The initiative provides for early identification, continuous monitoring and structured management of high-risk groups, including Severely Acute Malnourished (SAM) and Moderately Acute Malnourished (MAM) children, as well as low birth weight infants. Strengthened referral pathways and follow-up mechanisms will be put in place to ensure timely intervention.
Scientifically formulated, nutrient-dense and fortified food premixes aligned with revised Government of India nutrition norms will be distributed. The plan includes the provision of milk and eggs to enhance protein and micronutrient intake. Special nutrition and follow-up protocols for SAM, MAM and low birth weight children will be implemented through linkages between Nutrition Rehabilitation Centres and intensified Home-Based Newborn Care (HBNC) and Home-Based Young Child Care (HBYC) visits.
Capacity-building programmes will be conducted for frontline workers to strengthen their response to common health challenges such as anaemia, diarrhoea and pneumonia. ASHA and Anganwadi workers will receive incentives for additional HBNC visits to ensure closer tracking of vulnerable infants.
Monitoring systems will be reinforced using the Poshan Tracker, Mother and Child Protection (MCP) cards and structured joint reviews at the state, district and block levels.
To ensure integrated service delivery, the scheme will institutionalise inter-departmental convergence involving the Departments of Health and Family Welfare, National Health Mission, Jal Shakti, Rural Development and School Education, aligning efforts across nutrition, health, sanitation and early childhood care.
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