Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy has launched YSR Sampoorna Poshana and YSR Sampoorna Poshana Plus schemes to provide nutritious food to the pregnant women, lactating mothers, and children.
The state government will be spending Rs 1,863 crore per annum on the two schemes to benefit over 30 lakh mothers and children up to six years belonging to the Below Poverty Line families.
“The previous government had not even spent Rs 500 crore per year under such programmes. It did not exceed Rs 200 on each beneficiary per month. But now, our government will be spending Rs 1,863 crore every year under the two nutritious diet schemes, with an expenditure of Rs 1,100 per beneficiary every month,” the chief minister said while speaking on the occasion, from his camp-office in Tadepalli, on Monday.
Fifty-three per cent of pregnant women in the state suffer from acute anaemia. Thirty-two per cent of children are with low birth weight and 31 per cent of children are suffering stunted growth.
“This situation is because of the apathy shown by the previous regimes. So, to lower malnutrition deaths and boost the future generation’s strength, our government has introduced these schemes,” Reddy said.
Supplementary nutrition is provided through the Anganwadi centres. The YSR Sampoorna Poshana Plus intends to supply nutritious food exclusively in the 77 tribal areas covering 8,320 Anganwadi Centres, while the urban and rural areas are covered under the YSR Sampoorna Poshana.
All the 55,607 Anganwadis would hereafter not operate as shelter homes but will impart bridge courses and prepare the children to enter the schools with basics besides providing nutritious food, Reddy said.
To monitor the effective implementation of YSR Sampoorna Poshana, the department of women development and child welfare has developed a mobile application to assess the service delivery and satisfaction levels of the beneficiaries.