Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Gujarat on June 18 to launch and lay the foundation stone for several projects totalling over Rs 21,000 crore during the ‘Gujarat Gaurav Abhiyan’ event in Vadodara.
Modi will also launch the state-wide ‘Mukhyamantri Matrushakti Yojana (MMY)’, a programme of the Gujarat Government to provide healthy food to pregnant and breastfeeding moms, as well as their newborn children, during the first 1,000 days of their lives to improve their nutritional status.
Simultaneously, the ‘Poshan Sudha Yojana’ would be implemented across all of the state’s tribal talukas, with indigenous women being covered by the scheme’s benefits.
Malnutrition and anaemia during pregnancy can hinder the development of the fetus, leading to the poor health of the newborn child. For a woman, from the days she conceives till the 270th day, and for a child from conception till the first two years or 730 days, this total period of 1,000 days is very crucial for their development and called the ‘first window of opportunity to strengthen their nutritional level.
The Central Government’s ‘Poshan Abhiyan,’ which recognises the seriousness of this issue, also asks for key interventions in these 1,000 days. During this time, it is critical to provide needed services such as a proper diet containing proteins, lipids, and other micronutrients. In light of this, the Gujarat Government has evolved the ‘Mukhyamantri Matrushakti Yojana,’ which would provide healthy food to pregnant and breastfeeding women for the first 1,000 days of their lives.
This scheme will be available to all pregnant and lactating women, as well as beneficiaries who have been recorded as pregnant or as a mother of a child for up to two years in the Health Department’s software since birth. Every beneficiary will receive two kilograms of chickpeas and one kilogramme of Tuvar and one litre of groundnut oil from the Anganwadi Centres every month, as part of the programme.
The State Government has allocated a budget of Rs 811 crore for this scheme this year and will make a provision of Rs 4,000 crore in the next five years.
This scheme will improve the nutritional status of mother and child, and also reduce the cases of stunting and premature deliveries. Maternal Mortality Rates and Infant Mortality Rates will also be reduced.
