Girijan Poshan Mitra: Breaking Free from Anaemia through Community-Based School Nutrition
Girijan Poshan Mitra: Breaking Free from Anaemia through Community-Based School Nutrition
Problem
- High anaemia prevalence among tribal adolescent girls, causing weakness, fatigue, and poor concentration in school
- Poor nutrition and iron-deficient diets, with limited access to iron-rich foods such as spinach, moringa, and Ragi
- Low awareness about nutrition and health, with cultural barriers preventing acceptance of blood tests and healthcare
- Lack of regular health monitoring, as schools previously had no consistent system for tracking hemoglobin levels or anaemia status
- Insufficient sustainable food sources, forcing schools to depend on external supplies instead of fresh, locally grown nutritious food
Solution
- Regular blood testing in all 60 Ashram High Schools, using RBSK and JANMAN vehicles to identify anaemia cases quickly
- Iron, folic acid, and Vitamin-C supplementation, given twice a week to improve hemoglobin levels and enhance iron absorption
- Nutritious iron-rich school meals, including Ragi Malt, moringa chutney, spinach curry, Mahua Ladoo, and curry leaves to improve dietary intake
- Kitchen gardens in schools, growing moringa, curry leaves, and fresh vegetables to ensure sustained access to healthy ingredients
- Community and school awareness programs, supported by school ANMs, wardens, IEC materials, and the adopt-a-school program to improve habits and overcome cultural resistance
Outcomes
- Significant improvement in anaemia levels, with tribal girls becoming healthier, stronger, and more energetic due to regular testing and supplements
- Better academic focus and participation, as improved health enables students to concentrate and perform better in school activities
- Sustained nutrition through kitchen gardens, guaranteeing daily access to fresh, nutritious vegetables grown within school premises
- Increased awareness of healthy practices among students, staff, and communities, promoting long-term improvements in dietary habits
- Strong monitoring and accountability, with health registers ensuring no child is missed and timely interventions are made for every anemic student
Project Details
Category: Public Health – Adolescent Nutrition
Project Title: Girijan Poshan Mitra
Department or District: Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA), Utnoor
State: Telangana
Start Date of the Project: 18th September 2024
Website:
Tribe(s) that the Project Covers: The project serves tribal adolescent girls across four districts—Adilabad, Asifabad, Mancherial, and Nirmal—in the ITDA Utnoor region. These areas collectively host a tribal population of over 4.95 lakh, including ST groups such as Gonds, Kolams, and Naikpods.
Keywords: Tribal Health, Telangana Tribal Schools, Telangana ITDA, Nutrition, School Adoption Program, IEC, RBSK, Adolescent Nutrition
Anaemia is a widespread but often overlooked health challenge, particularly among tribal adolescent girls. The Girijan Poshan Mitra initiative was launched by ITDA Utnoor as a transformative, community-based intervention to combat anaemia in 15,724 tribal girls studying in 60 Ashram High Schools. The goal is to ensure each girl is tested, treated, nourished, and educated in a sustained and culturally sensitive manner.
The Project
Girijan Poshan Mitra integrates health diagnostics, nutritional supplementation, dietary reform, school-level gardens, and community engagement. Blood tests are conducted through mobile units, results are promptly processed, and anaemic girls receive targeted interventions. A four-step implementation model—testing, treatment, monitoring, and sustainability—guides the project. Officers, teachers, ANMs, and community members all play designated roles in execution.
Problems that it Intends to Solve
The initiative addresses the high prevalence of anaemia, limited access to nutritious food, low health awareness, inadequate healthcare access, and a lack of community involvement in school health. Anaemia among tribal girls contributes to poor academic performance, high dropout rates, and future maternal complications.
What was the Need
- Tribal adolescent girls face unique physiological and socio-economic vulnerabilities. Their traditional diets are low in iron, menstruation increases their risk of anaemia, and healthcare penetration remains minimal. This created an urgent need for a comprehensive, school-based solution tailored to the community context.
- Initial resistance stemmed from cultural taboos about health tests, particularly blood testing. Operational challenges included reaching remote schools, testing thousands of girls, and managing dietary improvements with limited infrastructure.
Process Followed for Implementation
The program began with blood testing through RBSK and JANMAN vehicles, targeting 90–100 girls per day. Immediate reporting to the T-Hub facility allowed rapid classification into severe, moderate, or normal anaemia categories. School ANMs updated health records and ensured treatment. Officers adopted schools to monitor implementation. Kitchen gardens were set up to grow moringa, curry leaves, and other iron-rich vegetables. Students were provided with Mahua laddoos, ragi malt, and green vegetables, and received iron, folic acid, and vitamin C tablets twice weekly.
The project is led by ITDA Utnoor under the ST Welfare Department. District health officers, PHCs, and school authorities are jointly responsible for execution. A Health Control Room connects schools and medical staff to address emergencies.
The program ensured tribal community participation through school-based food preparation, parent-teacher meetings, and awareness drives. Officers and health staff engaged families to counter resistance and build trust.
Solutions Implemented
Solutions include regular testing, digital health tracking, school-based supplementation, locally sourced iron-rich foods, kitchen gardens, and continuous engagement via adopted school officers and trained wardens. Innovative dietary elements like Mahua laddoos, validated by the National Institute of Nutrition, were integrated.
The program covers 60 Ashram High Schools and 15,724 tribal girls. Over 14,000 girls have been tested and classified, with targeted treatment underway. Each school has its own kitchen garden and a dedicated monitoring unit officer.
Innovation and Unique Features
Key innovations include the integration of traditional foods (Mahua laddoo), the use of school kitchen gardens, and structured school adoption by officers. A centralized health monitoring system and the use of local, familiar food sources ensure cultural alignment and sustainability.
The project integrates mobile diagnostics, capacity-building for cooks and teachers, and culturally sensitive education. It utilizes vitamin C for improved iron absorption and relies on localized IEC campaigns to encourage dietary change.
The community’s role in food preparation and kitchen gardening ensures cultural familiarity and sustainability. Traditional tribal food wisdom was leveraged in creating recipes like Mahua laddoos and Moringa chutney.
The project evolved to expand kitchen gardens and enhance community education through WhatsApp groups and village-level campaigns. Officer-school pairings increased oversight and created accountability.
Challenges Faced Before Implementation
The biggest hurdles were resistance to medical testing, logistical barriers in reaching remote schools, and difficulty in aligning school meal programs with targeted nutrition needs.
Awareness campaigns, IEC materials, school-based assemblies, and home visits helped increase acceptance. Officers were assigned two schools each to build trust and consistency.
Outcomes
- More than 70% of girls have shown improvement in haemoglobin levels. School attendance improved by 15%, and academic performance rose by 10%. Health awareness has increased significantly in both students and their families.
- Daily registers track iron supplement consumption and meal quality. Health Control Rooms support emergency intervention, and monthly reviews by health officers ensure consistency.
- The initiative benefits 15,724 tribal girls across four districts, along with hundreds of wardens, teachers, ANMs, and indirectly, families who adopt healthier food practices.
Replicability / Scalability / Sustainability
- The program is scalable to other tribal districts due to its use of existing infrastructure and community knowledge. Kitchen gardens ensure sustainability. The approach is endorsed for state-level replication in other regions with high anaemia prevalence.
- The initiative dovetails with POSHAN Abhiyan and can be formally integrated into school health programs under the Tribal Welfare Department. Coordination with RBSK and ICDS strengthens institutional delivery.
- The project operates with minimal additional budget by converging schemes like Mid-Day Meals, NRHM, and ST Welfare provisions. Community-driven components reduce long-term costs.
