The Department of Community Medicines and Family Medicines of AIIMS- Bhubaneswar has implemented a unique initiative under the Community Led Activities for POSHAN (CLAP) programme to address the problem of lack of knowledge and information related to nutrition.
AIIMS-Bhubaneswar Executive Director Dr Ashutosh Biswas on the occasion of the celebration of ‘POSHAN Mela’ at Nayapalli Urban Health and Training Centre on Thursday said that creating awareness about key nutritional behavioural changes and building the capacity of the Mahila Arogya Samiti (MAS) members is the need of the hour for a healthy society.
As a part of the national level POSHAN Maah celebration, the Resource Centre for Advancement on Public Health Nutrition organized the programme. More than 150 participants from 10 Mahila Arogya Samitis demonstrated skills and discussed various issues related to infant and child feeding practices, complementary feeding, exclusive breastfeeding, hand washing, deworming, growth monitoring of newborns, care related to ante-natal check-ups and postnatal check-ups, diabetes Type-II, and hypertension, etc.
The Mela supported by UNICEF was attended by AIIMS-Bhubaneswar Executive Director Dr Biswas, AIIMS-Bibinagar Executive Director Dr Vikas Bhatia, Director, Family Welfare, Odisha, Dr Bijay Kumar Panigrahi, AIIMS-Bhubaneswar CM and FM Department HoD Dr Sonu H Subba, Dr Swayam Pragyan Parida, Dr Binod Kumar Behera, and Dr Prajna Paramita Giri.
The one-of-its-kind programme is expected to promote behavioural changes among slum dwellers as they will be sensitized to key behaviours related to nutrition. Earlier a pre-evaluation and screening of performances of MAS members was done by senior doctors of AIIMS-Bhubaneswar. On this occasion, a continuous medical education (CME) on nutrition was also organized for medical and nursing students and interns at AIIMS-Bhubaneswar.