Engagement of Urban SHGs in improving Nutrition and Health outcomes of pregnant, lactating women and adolescent girls

Home

Background

India, with a population of more than 1.4 billion people, has many challenges in improving the health and nutrition of women, adolescents and children. Steady declines have been noted in fertility, maternal, infant & child mortalities and the prevalence of severe manifestations of nutritional deficiencies. This issue is often more intense in urban slums where it is exacerbated by a lack of quality nutrition services. The most vulnerable in these urban slums are pregnant, lactating mothers and young children whose nutrition status depends on the ability of the household to provide nutritious meals, the quality & uptake of nutrition services, and overall community support. Undernutrition is further compounded by a number of socio-cultural and economic barriers prevailing in the slums

Mehdipatnam Municipal Circle (Khairatabad Zone, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, Telangana State) consists of 59 wards with 63,813 population across 14,135 households. Different social groups viz., SCs, Minorities, STs & OBCs, etc., live there with different occupations (fruits, flowers & vegetable vendors, construction workers, etc.). The Municipal Circle has 800 women Self Help Groups (SHGs) with around 8,000 members and there are a total of 11 Slum Level Federations (SLFs). The proposed operational geography of the Nutrition and Health Project is 10 slums in the Mehdipatnam Municipal Circle

This Nutrition and Health Project, funded by WIPRO Cares, is implemented by APMAS. The Project aims to address gender barriers for improved health and nutrition behaviour in pregnant and lactating women (PLW) through SHG platforms in the urban slums of GHMC, Telangana

Project Objective:
  • Capacitate SHG institutions to build strong social and capital for reaching out to pregnant, lactating women & children below two years and adolescent girls in the slums
  • 80 percent of pregnant and lactating women consume a minimum of five food groups in their diet and avail supplementary nutrition from ICDS & health services
  • 70 percent early initiation of breastfeeding within one hour and 90 percent exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of infants
  • 80 percent of adolescent girls practice hygienic methods during menstruation and will have improved knowledge of their safety and security
  • Address gender barriers and myths on nutrition during the pregnancy & lactation period
  • 100% P & L women will be covered for awareness. What is mentioned in the table is the Outcome at the Project end, 80% of the P & L follow minimum diversity. The number mentioned in the demographic table regarding Pregnant, Lactating women, children below 2 years & adolescent girls will be covered 100% for awareness and for behaviour change

Operational Area:
Geographic area covers 10 slums (14 AWCs) of Mehdipatnam Circle (7 AWCs) and Karwan Circle (7 AWCs) of GHMC

Duration:
3 Yrs (June 2022 to May 2025)

Outreach:
Covers 26,000 direct population of different social groups and another 40,000 indirect population

Collaborators:
State Government of Telangana, MEPMA (Mission for Elimination of Poverty in Municipal Areas), UCD division of GHMC (Greater Hyderabad of Municipal Corporation), Women & Child Welfare and Health & Family Welfare departments, School education department (Upper primary), College of Home Science and other NGOs

Strategies include:
  • Extensive use of the SHG platform for catalyzing community and target groups
  • Prioritised home visits for better inter-personal communication for focussed messages
  • Convergence with line departments
  • Emphasis on gender barriers/myths
  • Behaviour Change sessions with Pregnant & Lactating women, Mother-in-laws & men
  • Thematic Campaigns
  • Food Demonstrations
  • Celebration of national events on Health and Nutrition
  • Facilitating SLF special meetings
  • Quarterly stakeholders’ convergence meetings (along with the community)
  • Community-based events (Eg: baby showers)
  • Awareness campaigns on Nutrition & menstrual hygiene of Adolescent girls
  • Use of ICT - enabled real-time monitoring

Social Behavioural Change Communication Materials
Innovative Social Behavioural Change Communication (SBCC) materials were developed by APMAS in the Project on malnutrition, the importance of dietary diversity, menstrual hygiene practices, the role of men in the family and other stakeholders. These communication materials are used extensively in training, SHG meetings and slum-level Federation (SLF) meetings. Existing materials from other agencies including Govt Departments also used appropriately. These materials include games, posters, flip charts, video clippings, modules, etc. The counterparts of ICDS, Health, and some selected Community Resource Persons (CRPs) are trained on effective use of the SBCC materials to achieve the desired results

Materials Developed:

Healthy Kids Bright Future- Focusing on Adolescent Health


With permission from Ms. Rohini, District Education Officer, Hyderabad, the Urban Nutrition Project team successfully organized a two-day health camp for 130 teenagers on July 23 and 24 at two schools: Government High School, Kulsumpura, and GHS Devalijamsing Government School, Gudimalkapur. The event was organized in partnership with the Helping Hands Foundation. Essential health services provided by the camp were blood (hemoglobin) tests, dental checkups, and eye tests. The program's main objectives were to assist students' general well being, identify and resolve health issues, and promote good nutrition and health awareness. The APMAS, Helping Hands Foundation team, supporting school head masters, ASHA workers, and eager kids all contributed to the event's success by demonstrating their shared dedication to enhancing adolescent health.

Photos