it is showing how anganwadi workers work in India to help financially unstable families, health of mother and her child, get introduced about vaccination, nutritional intake in rural areas. The Indian government had started Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) program to combat child hunger and malnutrition. The role of Mukhya Sevika. Different nine parameters of anganwadi workers.

1. Role of Anganwadi workers in spreading awareness about
nutritional intake of mothers and children in rural areas

2. What are Anganwadis?
Government sponsored child-care
and mother-care development
programmes in India at the village
level.
• Anganwadi meaning is “courtyard shelter”. It primarily caters to children in the 0-6 age
groups.
• They were started by the Indian government in 1975 as part of the Integrated Child
Development Services (ICDS) program to combat child hunger and malnutrition.

3. How does Anganwadi system work?
The Anganwadi system in one village which is
managed by a single AWW who is chosen from
the community and has been trained for four
months in area such as health, nutrition and
childcare.
AWW covers a population of about 1000 people.
Mukhya Sevika- The Supervisor of AWWs
For every 10 AWWs there is an Anganwadi Supervisor
to provide on the job guidance.
• Checks the list of beneficiaries from the low
economic strata, who are severely malnourished.
• Guides AWWs in the assessment of correct ages of
children, correct method of weighing the children,
and plotting their weights on growth charts.
• Demonstrates effective methods of providing
health and nutrition education to mothers.
• Maintains the statistics of the Anganwadis.
Mukhya Sevikas, in turn, report to the Child Development Projects Officer (CDPO)

4. ICDS
It is only major national program that addresses the
needs of children under the age of six years.
 It seeks to provide young children with an integrated
package of services such as supplementary nutrition, health
care and free school education. Because the health and
nutrition needs a child cannot be addressed in isolation
from those of his/her mother, the program also extends to
adolescent girls, pregnant women and nursing mothers.

7. Supplementary nutrition
 It includes supplementary feeding and growth monitoring
and prophylaxis against vitamin A deficiency and control of
nutritional anemia.
 The Anganwadi attempts to bridge the protein energy gap
between recommended dietary allowance and average
dietary intake of children and women.
 For pregnant women and nursing mothers antenatal,
immunization iron folic acid supplementation and improved
care, adequate extra family food and rest during pregnancy.
 Mothers for prophylaxis and children with anemia are
administered of iron and folic acid tablets and monitored by
AWWs. Use of iodized salt to prevent from iodine deficiency.

8. • Children below the age of three years
are weighed once a month and children
3-6 of age are weighed every quarter.
• Children are weighed on a graded scale
ranking from A-D wherein A represents
balanced normal growth and D
represents malnourishment.
• Severely malnourished children are
given special supplementary feeding and
referred to health sub-centers, Primary
health centers.
• The Anganwadi centers also maintain a
record of nutritional status of all children
in community.
Growth monitoring and nutrition
surveillance

9. Non-formal pre-school education
 This component for 3-6 year old children in Anganwadi
directed towards providing and ensuring a natural, joyful
and stimulating environment, emphasis for growth and
development.
 It also contributes to the universalization of primary
education, by providing the child for primary schooling and
provide girls to attend school.
 It is provided through the medium of “play” to promote the
social, emotional, cognitive, physical and aesthetic
development of child.
2/28/2023
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10. Immunization
The main role of Anganwadi worker is to assist health staff to maintain records,
motivate the parents and organize immunization sessions.
Iron and Vitamin A
supplementation to
pregnant women
and children
Reproductive Child Health
Programme

11. Health Check-ups
Referral
Services
Nutrition and Health
Education

12. Health Check-up
Services provided by ANM, Medical
officers in charge of Health Sub-
Center and PHC under the RCH.
The various health services include
regular health check-ups, immunization,
management of malnutrition, treatment
of diarrhea, de-worming and
distribution of simple medication.
Referral Services
These cases are referred by the
Anganwadi worker to the medical
officers of the PHC.
During health check-ups sick or
malnourished children need more
attention and are referred to PHC or sub
center.
Anganwadi workers has been oriented
to detect disabilities in young children.
Nutrition and Health
Education
A key element of the work of
Anganwadi worker.
Basic health, nutrition, information
related to child care and development,
infant feeding practices, utilization of
health services, family planning and
environment sanitation.
Providing health education through
home visits which is part of behavior
change communication (BCC). This has
the long term goal of capacity building
of women – especially in the age group
of 15-45 years.

13.  https://journalsofindia.com/Anganwadis-services-problems-and solutions/
 https://mvfindia.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/shagufta-Kamran-report-on-ICDS.pdf
 http://nhm.gov.in/images/pdf/communitisation/task-group-reports/guidelines-on-asha.pdf
 Image curtsey: Google images
References

14. Thank you!
Suchi Patel
Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology