CRY, JKASW hand over five-year Mission POSHAN roadmap to strengthen child nutrition in J&K

Srinagar, June 17: Child Rights and You (CRY) in collaboration with the Jammu & Kashmir Association of Social Workers (JKASW), facilitated the handover ceremony of a comprehensive Five-Year Strategic Roadmap for Mission POSHAN Jammu & Kashmir to the Directorate of Mission POSHAN, J&K.

The roadmap provides a strategic framework for strengthening nutrition, health and Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) services for children below six years of age, pregnant women, and lactating mothers across Jammu & Kashmir.

It focuses on improving outcomes through effective implementation of Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0 while supporting the goals of NEP 2020 through strengthened ECCE services in Anganwadi Centres.

Key recommendations include the constitution of a State Resource Group, contextualisation of ECCE curriculum and learning materials, capacity building of officials and frontline workers, strengthening infrastructure and human resources, enhancing inter-departmental convergence, promoting community participation, leveraging digital platforms such as the POSHAN Tracker, and strengthening monitoring and accountability systems.

The handover ceremony was attended by Sarmad Hafeez, Commissioner Secretary, Department of Social Welfare, Government of Jammu & Kashmir, and Sajad Hussain Ganie, Director Mission POSHAN, J&K. Representatives from CRY and JKASW, District Programme Officers, Child Development Project Officers, Supervisors and other stakeholders also participated in the programme.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Sarmad Hafeez appreciated the collaborative effort in developing the roadmap and expressed the Department’s commitment to exploring its recommendations for strengthening services for children and mothers. Mr. Sajad Hussain Ganie welcomed the initiative and emphasized the importance of evidence-based planning, convergence and continuous capacity building for effective implementation.

The vote of thanks was delivered by Santanu Sarma CRY representatives, who thanked the Department of Social Welfare, Directorate of Mission POSHAN, JKASW and all stakeholders for their contributions to the development of the Five-Year Roadmap and appreciated the collaborative efforts that made the initiative possible.