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International Journal of Current Trends in Science and Technology
Online ISSN: 0976-9730
Print ISSN: 0976- 9498
Scope of Improvement in Anganwadi Centers
Tehseen Masood
Department of Home Science, Panjab University
Abstract:
The extant literature available highlights certain gaps and short comings of the ICDS program which in future
will help the Government as well as the program functionaries in the improvement process
Key words: Meta analysis, Anganwadi (AW) workers, supplementary nutrition.
Introduction:
The extant literature available highlights certain gaps
and short comings of the ICDS program which in
future will help the Government as well as the
program functionaries in the improvement process.
Various studies has come out with lots of finding
which have come as a ‘pat on the back’ as far as the
implementation of ICDS program is concerned but
there are certain loopholes which have been discussed
in the present study. AS the implementation of ICDS
depends on how Anganwadi (AW) workers work and
the condition of the AW centers.In the present study
Meta-Analysis was conducted and the critical analysis
of the findings has been discussed below.
 Adequate attention and a concrete action is
required to maintain hygienic and clean
surroundings in the center as many of the
Anganwadi centers have been found to be in
unhygienic surroundings.
 Almost half of the Anganwadi centers are
having inadequate space for conducting indoor
activities. Adequate space will be helpful in
conducting the activities properly and
meaningfully so provision of large rooms
should be made.
 In most of the Anganwadi centers the
attendance of children is relatively low so
appropriate knowledge regarding AWC; its
services should be provided to the population
for maximum utilization and benefit of the
services. Creches and day care centers can be
set up and attached to Anganwadi centers as
this would widen the opportunities for all
children to develop.
 Although supplementary nutrition is provided
regularly in AWC by the worker still an
improvement can be made in terms of variety
and quality. Low cost nutritious
International Journal of Current Trends in Science and Technology , Vol. 7, Issue. 11,
Page no: SC 20462-20465
Section: Social Science
Received 2017-10-15; Accepted 2017-11-11
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15520/ctst.v7i11.126
recipes can be developed and provided for
supplementary nutrition
 Mothers and Anganwadi workers could be
given special training in preparing local
recipes. It is suggested that at least two
mothers could help Anganwadi workers and
helpers in rotation in cooking and serving of
supplementary nutrition.
 Knowledge about growth monitoring has been
found to be adequate among Anganwadi
worker but still a gap has been found in its
implementation.
 Inter-sectoral coordination of ICDS
functionaries with health department has been
found to be in tune in majority of Anganwadi
centers whereas in some centers , it needs to
be strengthened.
 In majority of centers provision of nutritional
supplements is regular whereas in few places
special efforts needs to be initiated by both
ICDS and health functionaries for improving
the availability of nutritional supplements.
 Results revealed that in majority of areas,
knowledge of Anganwadi workers is adequate
however some areas still require
improvement. It is suggested that in service
training of Anganwadi workers should be
done by using appropriate teaching methods.
Anganwadi workers should be encouraged to
apply their theoretical knowledge in practice
more often.
 Nutrition and health education services should
be provided at regular intervals. It is
recommended that Nutrition health education
sessions should be held at regular intervals in
the Anganwadi centers. Continuous and
effective monitoring is suggested as that will
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Tehseen Masood / Scope of Improvement in Anganwadi Centers
be helpful in the effective implementation of
this component.
 Financial provision should be increased for
this program as that can be used in providing
suitable infrastructure for the center and also
for arranging supplementary nutrition.
 Most of the Anganwadi workers and helpers
have been found to be dissatisfied with the
honorarium they are given. So if possible,
their honorarium should be increased as it will
help in their effective participation and this in
turn will help in successful implementation of
the program.
Conclusion:
The present literature is quite thin, thus the present
topic is required to be explores more. This will not
only benefit the children but its overall impact will
help in the nation building. Future research can be
carried out on the below mentioned areas.
1. A Comparative study on the knowledge of
Anganwadi workers during their pre-training
and post-training on various components of
ICDS.
2. Relation between knowledge of Anganwadi
workers and its impact on the nutritional status
of target group.
3. Impact of Nutrition Education Programs on
Anganwadi workers and their performance.
4. Determinants of performance of Anganwadi
workers.
5. Coordination between Anganwadi workers
and Auxiliary Nurse Midwife on health
related activities and its impact on program
implementation
6. Effectiveness of training on the Growth
monitoring activities and its implementation
among Anganwadi workers.
7. Assessment of Growth monitoring activities
conducted by Anganwadi workers.
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