korba; 19th September, 2022: In observance of ‘POSHAN Maah’, Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (BALCO), India’s iconic aluminium producer and a subsidiary of Vedanta Aluminium, has undertaken a month-long awareness programme on food and nutrition, healthy eating practices, balanced diet, importance of indigenous food, etc. Under the Government of India’s POSHAN (Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nutrition) or National Nutrition Mission, the month of September is celebrated as the month of nutrition. Championing the mission, BALCO is working towards sensitizing local communities on the various dimensions of nutrition to improve nutritional outcomes for children, pregnant women and lactating mothers.
The awareness drive is being conducted under project Arogya, BALCO’s overarching programme on community health. The drive includes various activities like interactive discussions, positive deviance hearth sessions that informs on practices to reduce the prevalence of malnutrition among children under five years, Q&A sessions, audio-visual showcase, etc. on nutrition related information in order to edify the participants on positive nutritional behavior and best practices to be followed in the day-to-day lives. They are also being trained on the preparation and consumption of take-home ration provided through the government’s schemes. Agricultural experts have been roped in to teach them about ‘Poshan Badi’ or nutritional gardens and seed kits are also being distributed to the community members. Contests on healthy recipe and healthy baby are also serving as platforms to further sensitize the families and friends of the contestants. BALCO is also organizing a community ‘Godh Bharayi’ event to celebrate pregnancy, and in the process educate pregnant women on their own health and pre-natal care of the baby. Under Vedanta’s Nand Ghar project, BALCO is also imparting training on hygienic and nutritional precooked meals to mitanins and mothers of children enrolled in Nand Ghar.
Talking about BALCO’s dedicated efforts towards improving women and children’s nutrition levels, Mr. Abhijit Pati, CEO & Director, BALCO, said, “Nutrition and health are two of the key focus areas in our community development endeavours, and we pay special attention to improving the health quotient of women and children. We have a multi-faceted approach to nutrition, which includes promotion of local produce, encouraging cultivation of indigenous crops, sensitising communities on correct nutritional practices, providing nutritional food through our Nand Ghars, among others. Working together with the district administration, we are certain that our relentless efforts will truly make a difference to the lives of our neighbouring communities.”
Expressing her gratitude, Khushboo Chaudhary, a resident of Nehru Nagar, who has been a part of the awareness campaign, said, “I have attended the training on take-home ration, which showcased how to truly bring out the nutritional benefits of the food. I am happy that I am now able to give my children the benefit of nutritional meals. These awareness drives have helped our community to a very great extent.” Like Khushboo, over 100 people have benefitted from the sessions. BALCO has plans to reach out to 500 community members during the month.
Project ‘Arogya’ is a comprehensive health initiative providing quality primary health care services through Rural Health Posts and awareness campaigns on TB, HIV and Maternal & Child health. In FY’22 the project reached out to over 28,900 people through curative and preventive healthcare services in 30 communities.
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