Assessment of Nutritional Status and Utilization of Government Welfare Schemes among Below-Income and Middle-Class Households in Dehra Block of Kangra District, Himachal Pradesh

Malnutrition continues to be a significant societal issue in the country of India particularly among the vulnerable population groups, such as women and young children. The current research paper measures the nutrition of young children (0 to 6 years old) and women, and surveyed the awareness and uptake of the selected government nutrition and welfare programmes across the households of Below Poverty Line (BPL) and middle income in Dehra Block of Kangra District in Himachal Pradesh. A cross-sectional research design based on community was used. The 30 households that were used to provide primary data were selected through a structured questionnaire comprising socio-demographic factors, dietary habits, medical conditions, and awareness and use of welfare programs such as the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), POSHAN Abhiyaan and the Public Distribution System (PDS). The anthropometric indicators were height, weight and mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), which are all measured under the standardized protocols and the outcomes were compared with child growth standards developed by the World Health Organization. The analyses performed were descriptive and comparative statistics to determine differences between the BPL and middle-income households. Findings reveal the gaps in knowledge and access to particular welfare programs, especially the POSHAN Abhiyaan, and permanent threats of anemia and malnutrition in children and women. Such results highlight the need to promote awareness initiatives, strengthen service provision through Anganwadi and ASHA employees, and interventions that would help to increase the impact of nutrition-related welfare programs at the community level.

Nutritional Status, Malnutrition, Welfare Schemes, Child Health, Women’s Health, POSHAN Abhiyaan, ICDS, Rural Nutrition

1. Barker, D. J. P. (2007). The developmental origins of adult disease. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 23(6), 588S–595S. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Black, R. E., Victora, C. G., Walker, S. P., & Maternal and Child Nutrition Study Group. (2013). Maternal and child undernutrition and overweight in low-income and middle-income countries. The Lancet, 382(9890), 427–451. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(13)60937-X. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Gropper, S. S., & Smith, J. L. (2018). Advanced nutrition and human metabolism (7th ed.). Cengage Learning. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Government of India. (2021). National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), 2019–2021: India fact sheet. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), & ICF. (2021). National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), 2019–21: India. IIPS. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. International Institute for Population Sciences. (2021). National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), 2019– 2021: Himachal Pradesh. IIPS. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Kapur, D. (2018). Reforming the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme in India. Economic and Political Weekly, 53(41), 45–52. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Kapur, D. (2018). Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme: A program for holistic development of children in India. Indian Journal of Public Administration. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Ministry of Women and Child Development. (2021). POSHAN Abhiyaan: National Nutrition Mission. Government of India. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Ministry of Women and Child Development. (2021). POSHAN Abhiyaan guidelines and progress reports. Government of India. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. NITI Aayog. (2022). National multidimensional poverty index: A progress review. Government of India. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Sharma, R., & Thakur, S. (2020). Nutritional status of children under five years in rural Himachal Pradesh. Indian Journal of Community Health, 32(2), 215–221. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Smith, L. C., & Haddad, L. (2015). Reducing child undernutrition: Past drivers and priorities for the postMDG era. World Development, 68, 180–204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.11.014 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. UNICEF. (2019). The state of the world’s children 2019: Children, food and nutrition. UNICEF. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. UNICEF. (2020). Improving child nutrition: The achievable imperative for global progress. UNICEF. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. World Bank. (2020). Repositioning nutrition as central to development: A strategy for large-scale action. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. World Health Organization. (2021). Malnutrition. WHO. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• The Impact of Ownership Structure on Dividend Payout Policy of Listed Plantation Companies in Sri Lanka
• Urban Sustainability in North-East India: A Study through the lens of NER-SDG index
• Performance Assessment of Predictive Forecasting Techniques for Enhancing Hospital Supply Chain Efficiency in Healthcare Logistics
• The Fractured Self in Julian Barnes' Postmodern Fiction: Identity Crisis and Deflation in Metroland and the Sense of an Ending
• Impact of Flood on the Employment, Labour Productivity and Migration of Agricultural Labour in North Bihar