Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR)
Mandate
Health & Nutrition Division primarily focused on early childhood care, development and education through anganwadis, immunisation, and combating malnutrition. The division also focuses on adolescent girls' health by means of monitoring school health programs, and menstrual hygiene issues, amongst others. To read the complete mandate of the Division, kindly click here.
Projects and Initiatives
Some of the most prominent projects/initiatives undertaken during Financial Year 2020-21 are mentioned:
1. Vidhan Sabha Child Protection Committee - a citizen-led initiative to monitor the implementation of schemes like ICDS and PMMVY
In August 2020, the Commission initiated the constitution of a three-membered citizen led Committees in all Delhi Vidhan Sabhas. These Committees are responsible for creating awareness, identifying eligible beneficiaries of Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and PMMVY scheme, as well as reviewing and monitoring the enrollment in schemes, vaccination drives, and coordinating with Anganwadi Worker (AWW) to ensure the distribution of Take Home Ration (THR), record grievances, etc.
The Committees assumed their duties after rigorous training organized by the Commission, which also arranges monthly review meetings with the Committees on a rolling basis. Through extensive mobilization and outreach in their communities, the Committees have identified 494 families from challenging socio-economic backgrounds which are enrolled in the ICDS and PMMVY Scheme.
2. Monitoring the Status of Distribution of Nutritional Supplements under Integrated Child Development Scheme ICDS)
Considering the fact that pregnant women, lactating mothers and the children aged under six years age group have been rendered at significant risk by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Commission has been actively monitoring and tracking the distribution of nutritional supplements and Take Home Ration (THR) through anganwadis since May 2020.
The first rapid survey was undertaken in April - May 2020 with a sample of nearly 1600 randomly selected beneficiaries and found that only 34% of sampled beneficiaries received their nutritional supplements. The Commission’s findings activated the Department of Women and Child Development which led to a substantial improvement in implementation of the scheme.
The findings of January 2021 survey indicate that nearly 85% of the beneficiaries have received their entitlements, establishing a 51% increase in distribution status since May 2020, when the lockdown had disrupted all services.
3. Advising Government to Restart Immunisation Services through Anganwadis
Concerned about the adverse effect the pandemic and the consequential delay in immunization could have on children’s health including impaired cognitive development, disability, medical conditions and even premature deaths, the Commission advised the government to resume regular vaccination activities at the anganwadi level.
The Health Department, Govt. of NCT of Delhi along with the Department of Women & Child Development (DWCD), Govt. of NCT of Delhi undertook active steps to ensure that immunization services are resumed from August 2020 and thereafter regular drive for immunisation have been in progress in anganwadis with adequate social distancing and hygiene protocols in place.
4. Geotagging of Anganwadi Centres in Delhi
Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) are the foundational block of early childhood care and education as they provide care, nutrition, and pre-elementary education to children in the age group of 0-6 years. In an effort to strengthen the accessibility of these centres, the Commission has undertaken an exercise in collaboration with the department of Women & Child Development, GNCTD to map all these anganwadi centres through Geographic Information System (GIS). Currently, the project is underway and 9448 AWCs, i.e. 88% of the mapping has been completed, further 100% mapping can be expected by April 2021.
Such a system, along with the dashboard created with feature to search for AWCs through district, pincode and even Vidhan Sabha, will not only provide the exact location of each anganwadi centre but also strengthen the entire service delivery mechanism within the department enabling more than 10 lakhs beneficiaries enrolled in more than 10,755 Anganwadi Centres to access the AWCs with ease.