Thousands of children across 19 districts of Jharkhand were served eggs today in their midday meal as part of the Right to Food Campaign’s anda abhiyan, which demanded the immediate implementation of the National Food Security Act. The Act provides not only for a daily nutritious meal for every child (at the local school or anganwadi), but also for maternity entitlements of Rs 6,000 for every pregnant woman. Further, 86 per cent of households in rural Jharkhand and 58 per cent of households in urban Jharkhand are to be given subsidized foodgrains under the Public Distribution System.
The Act is of enormous importance for Jharkhand, which has some of the highest levels of undernutrition in India. Unfortunately, the Government of Jharkhand has shown very little interest in the Act so far. Even as other states work overtime to identify eligible households and launch the Act, Jharkhand is far behind.
The other demand raised by the Campaign today was that of regular provision of eggs for children in the school midday meals and the introduction of eggs for smaller children in the anganwadi. According to the official midday menus of most districts of Jharkhand, children are supposed to get eggs every Friday. However, in most schools children get eggs irregularly, if at all.
The state government has recently announced an additional budgetary allocation of Rs 192 crores to provide eggs to children 2-3 times a week in the midday meals. The Campaign demands immediate implementation of this decision.
In Ranchi, the abhiyan took place in the government school of Hatma Basti, where eggs were served to about 350 children and mothers of some of the younger ones. Children of this school, who had not received eggs for about a month, greatly enjoyed this treat. Prof Ramesh Sharan from Ranchi University, Ms Rooplakshmi Munda, Chairperson of the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) and Dr Sunita Katyayan, Member SCPCR who attended the event, supported the Campaign’s demand for regular provision of locally cooked nutritious and diverse meals for children.
Despite heavy rains, 450 children of Chanpi in Petarwar block of Bokaro came to school for the eggs in their midday meal.
The abhiyan in Manika block of Latehar was inaugurated by the BDO and Block Pramukh, where about 200 children were served eggs. About 100 people from nearby villages attended the event. Prof Jean Drèze of Ranchi University who was also present commented, “An egg in the mid day meal is not just nutritious food for children but also a symbol of the society’s commitment to their well being”.
The Act is of enormous importance for Jharkhand, which has some of the highest levels of undernutrition in India. Unfortunately, the Government of Jharkhand has shown very little interest in the Act so far. Even as other states work overtime to identify eligible households and launch the Act, Jharkhand is far behind.
The other demand raised by the Campaign today was that of regular provision of eggs for children in the school midday meals and the introduction of eggs for smaller children in the anganwadi. According to the official midday menus of most districts of Jharkhand, children are supposed to get eggs every Friday. However, in most schools children get eggs irregularly, if at all.
The state government has recently announced an additional budgetary allocation of Rs 192 crores to provide eggs to children 2-3 times a week in the midday meals. The Campaign demands immediate implementation of this decision.
In Ranchi, the abhiyan took place in the government school of Hatma Basti, where eggs were served to about 350 children and mothers of some of the younger ones. Children of this school, who had not received eggs for about a month, greatly enjoyed this treat. Prof Ramesh Sharan from Ranchi University, Ms Rooplakshmi Munda, Chairperson of the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) and Dr Sunita Katyayan, Member SCPCR who attended the event, supported the Campaign’s demand for regular provision of locally cooked nutritious and diverse meals for children.
Despite heavy rains, 450 children of Chanpi in Petarwar block of Bokaro came to school for the eggs in their midday meal.
The abhiyan in Manika block of Latehar was inaugurated by the BDO and Block Pramukh, where about 200 children were served eggs. About 100 people from nearby villages attended the event. Prof Jean Drèze of Ranchi University who was also present commented, “An egg in the mid day meal is not just nutritious food for children but also a symbol of the society’s commitment to their well being”.
