IWCDS adopts novel ways to provide services to children, pregnant women

Srikakulam: Integrated Women and Child Welfare and Development Society (IWCDS) has adopted alternative methods to provide services to children, pregnant women and lactating mothers in the district in the wake of Covid pandemic. With rise in Covid positive cases across the district, the IWCDS officials, staff and women are not visiting the Anganwadi centres at village-level and attendance of children also fell in numbers drastically though the government allowed to run the centres from 9 am 12 noon.

As per IWCDS officials, the district has 4,192 anganwadi centres in the district and total children enrolled in these centres up to 6 years of age are 1,34,343. Total pregnant women are 16,544 and lactating mothers are 20,081. But officials and staff of IWCDS wing prepared a novel alternative plan to provide uninterrupted services to children, pregnant women and lactating mothers. They created WhatsApp group separately at anganwadi centre level for children, pregnant women and lactating mothers.

For the purpose of children, their parents numbers were added in the WhatsApp group. Songs, videos, photos and etc material are sending through these WhatsApp group to parents of children and the parents in turn educating their children. For pregnant women, medicines and food items time table were prepared and sending the same to their WhatsApp group and by following it they are maintaining health tips, food discipline as usual. For lactating mothers also same method was adopted.

Regular nutritious food items also handed over at the doorstep of children, pregnant women and lactating mothers to avoid crowding at anganwadi centres.

"With an aim to provide uninterrupted services, we have adopted alternative methods during the Covid pandemic," stated IWCDS Project Director G Jaya Devi to The Hans India.