DDWS Joins Hands with Ministry of Women and Child Development for Poshan Pakhwada 2025, Promoting “Shuddh Jal aur Swachhta Se SwasthBachpan” Campaign

7^th edition of Poshan Pakhwada from 8^th to 23^rd April, 2025

“Purn Poshan Ki Shuruwaat, Shuddh Jal aur Swachhta Ke Saath” will be the campaign tagline

The campaign focusing on clean water practices and sanitation as crucial elements for a child’s nutrition and overall health

Extensive awareness generation sessions and sensitisation activities to be carried out by States/ UTs

Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS) under Ministry of Jal Shakti, is actively participating in the 7^th edition of Poshan Pakhwada from 8^th to 23^rd April, 2025. Aligning with the Ministry of Women and Child Development’s Saksham Anganwadi scheme, the department’s campaign is themed “Shuddh Jal aur Swachhta Se Swasth Bachpan” (Clean Water and Sanitation for Healthy Childhood), with a tagline “Purn Poshan Ki Shuruwaat, Shuddh Jal aur Swachhta Ke Saath” focusing specifically on clean water practices and sanitation as crucial elements for a child’s nutrition and overall health.

Poshan Pakhwada aims to combat malnutrition through behaviour changes at individual, family, and community levels, highlighting four key areas:

• Emphasis on the first 1,000 days of human life
• Popularisation of the Beneficiary Module in the Poshan Tracker App
• Effective management of malnutrition through the CMAM module
• Promotion of healthy lifestyles to address childhood obesity

States/UTs will conduct extensive community-level activities to underline the critical role of safe drinking water and sanitation practices in preventing malnutrition and diseases.

Planned activities include:

• Shuddh Jal and Swachhta Drive: Conducting community sessions on safe drinking water, sanitation practices, hand hygiene, composting, and waste management.
• Capacity Building for Anganwadi Workers: Sensitisation sessions and training on safe water consumption and good sanitation practices to aid in better counselling for mothers.
• Awareness Generation for Lactating Mothers: IEC activities by Anganwadi and ASHA workers on safe drinking water and sanitation to enhance community health.
• Smart Poshan Anganwadi Certification: Recognising top-performing Anganwadi Centers for maintaining high hygiene and nutrition standards.
• Swachh Jal, Sundar Aangan Initiative: Improving sanitation facilities at Anganwadi centers with community and Self-Help Groups (SHGs) involvement, including murals and child-friendly water stations.
• Awareness Rallies: Community mobilisation focusing on preventing waterborne diseases through proper sanitation and hygiene.

Department will also complement the efforts of WCD by promoting the campaign over social media platforms which is an integral part of the campaign, utilising hashtags #DDWSJoinsPoshanPakhwada and #PoshanPakhwada to maximise outreach and impact.

Through these collective efforts, including WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) initiatives, the Jal Jeevan Mission, and the Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen, Poshan Pakhwada aims to create enduring awareness and drive substantial behavioral change in rural communities, enabling improved health, sanitation, and nutrition for every child in India.

Source & Image: https://bit.ly/4ljJF7n