Supported By : Welthungerhilfe (WHH)
Partner : GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit)
Implementing Organization : Pahal Jan Sahyog Vikas Sansthan
Duration : 3-Year Intensive Intervention
Program Area : Madhya Pradesh
POSHANAM was designed to break the cycle of malnutrition by combining community-led nutrition education with household-level food security solutions and system strengthening.
Program Objective (Brief Overview)
The objective of POSHANAM was to improve maternal and child nutrition outcomes by enhancing dietary diversity, strengthening frontline worker capacity, promoting household nutrition gardens, and improving access to government nutrition schemes.
The Challenge
Chronic malnutrition, low dietary diversity, and weak last-mile access to nutrition services continue to affect tribal and rural families — especially women and children under two — reinforcing an intergenerational cycle of undernutrition.
Core Interventions
- Training of 1,784 Anganwadi Workers across 717 villages using the Nutrition Participatory Learning and Action (NPLA) model
- Establishment of 1,500 Poshan Wadis (Nutrition Gardens) to improve household food diversity
- Community-based nutrition counseling for women and caregivers
- Strengthening last-mile convergence with government nutrition services
- Promotion of behavior change for maternal and child feeding practices
Impact Delivered
- Improvement in Women’s Dietary Diversity (IDDS increased by one full food group)
- 15% rise in Minimum Acceptable Diet (MAD) among children (6–23 months)
- Significant improvement in Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women (MDDW)
- Stronger linkages between tribal families and state nutrition services
- Increased community ownership of nutrition-sensitive practices
Indicator Based Impact Results
- Dietary Diversity (Women): The Individual Dietary Diversity Score (IDDS) for women (15–49 years) increased by one full food group.
- Child Nutrition (MAD): Minimum Acceptable Diet (MAD) for children (6–23 months) saw a 15% increase over the baseline.
- Minimum Diversity (Women): Significant rise in MDDW (Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women) through increased local food variety.
- Government Access: Tribal and rural communities are now better equipped to independently access state food and nutrition services.
Key Learning
When nutrition knowledge is paired with local food production and system convergence, change becomes sustainable — not seasonal, not temporary, but structural.