Department of Information and Public Relations

Press Release No. 407/19

ADVISORY

The Assistant Inspector General of Police (A), Meghalaya has informed that since the publishing of the final draft of NRC on the 31st August, 2019 by the Government of Assam, numerous false information have been spreading through social media as well as media agencies. The media houses and the public at large are therefore advised to refrain from spreading rumours or false information which may create public disorder.

Press Release No. 408/19

LAUNCHING OF POSHAN MAAH 2019

As part of the nationwide launching of POSHAN Abhiyan, National Nutrition Mission, the Chief Minister of Meghalaya, Shri Conrad K Sangma launched the Poshan Abhiyan at SMELC Conference Hall, Dakopgre, Tura on 2nd September, 2019.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister, Shri Conrad K Sangma informed that during the recent meeting with the Union Minister, Smt Smriti Irani it was learnt that the health indicators with regard to the health of mothers’ and children in the State are comparatively low. Different departments comprising of Health and family welfare, Education, PHE, Social welfare provides different services like medical facilities, education, drinking water and sanitation facilities, nutrition to the people respectively, but the status of health of both women and children have not improved as expected and therefore, he urged all departments to participate with commitment so that the program is implemented successfully in the district and reaches to all the people in the region. Further, stating that it is a month long program, he said that this should not be stopped after the end of the month but to continue the process so that health of mothers and children are improved and are healthy. Further, he informed that the reports submitted by the Anganwadi helper and ASHAs could not be uploaded on MIS since they do not have Aadhar card and even though they are working in their respective field the reports have been shown as zero in the MIS portal. Therefore, he urged everyone especially the concerned staff to avail their Aadhar cards and to submit their reports on time.

Referring to the pilot project implemented in South West Garo Hills, district to monitor the pregnant mothers and status of immunization of children in the district, the Chief Minister said that the app would enable everyone involved in the program to find out the number of pregnant mothers in the district, their expected date of delivery and immunization status from the portal and the Institutional deliveries in South West Garo Hills District have increased from 40 percent to 80 percent, he added. Moreover, he also informed that apart from allocating various rural infrastructure and manpower in the district, the State government is trying its best to reduce the Infant Mortality Rate and MMR in the district and also announced that several programs to Clean our towns thereby ensuring zero littering and plastic free and using of re-useable or cloth bags will be launched in the coming days.

While delivering the keynote address, Chonseng Arengh, CDPO, Dadenggre informed that 'Poshan' stands for Prime Minister's Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nutrition and it aims to ensure holistic development and adequate nutrition for pregnant women, mothers and children while it targets to reduce level of under-nutrition and other related problems by ensuring convergence of various nutrition related schemes. The Poshan Abhiyan targets to reduce stunting, under-nutrition, low birth weight and anaemia among young children, women and adolescent girls. He also mentioned that POSHAN Abhiyan was initiated by the Government of India and the purpose of the programme is to boost nutrition among children and women. POSHAN Abhiyan is a flagship programme of the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD), Government of India which ensures convergence with various programmes that is, Anganwadi Services, scheme for Adolescence Girls, National Health Mission among others. During the program, the “Importance of Iron in life cycle” was delivered by Dr. I M Sangma, District Maternal and Child Health Officer, Tura.

Later, the Chief Minister and other Dignitaries inaugurated the Poshan Mela where homemade items along with fresh fruits and vegetables were sold at the venue. Additional Secretary, Chief Minister’s Office, Shillong, Shri Cyril V D Diengdoh, Additional Deputy Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner in charge, C N Sangma, Additional Deputy Commissioner, West Garo Hills, Z J Sangma, Heads of line departments, Senior citizens, ASHAs, Anganwadi Helpers were present at the function organised by the District Programme Officer, ICDS Cell, Tura in collaboration with various line departments of the district. The month of September has been marked as the Nutrition Month which will be celebrated with different activities at different levels, districts, blocks and villages at Anganwadi Centres. State Consultant, Poshan Abhiyan, Department of Social Welfare, Meghalaya Shillong, B B Nale were among others who spoke on the occasion. It is worth mentioning here that on the day, similar launching programmes were also held in the other districts across the state.