NEW DELHI: The Integrated Child Development Service (ICDS) scheme will aim at reducing the number of underweight children (under 3 years) from 47 to 40 per cent by the end of 2007 and prevalence of severe under-nutrition in the 0-6 years age group by half.

Efforts will also be made to reduce the instance of anaemia by 25 per cent and to eliminate Vitamin A deficiency as a public health problem.

Package of services

The scheme is aimed at improving the health status of children, below the age of six years and pregnant and lactating mothers. It provides a package of services comprising supplementary nutrition, immunisation, referral services, health check-up, pre school non-formal and nutrition and health education. Anganwadi is the focal point of delivery of services under the scheme. The scheme has been expanded to 466 additional projects and 1.88 lakh anganwadis (AWCs) in 2005-06.

To ensure coverage of all uncovered habitations/settlements, the Government has also started to give States up to 50 per cent of actual expenditure incurred by them on supplementary nutrition. In turn, the States have been instructed to ensure an uninterrupted supply of supplementary nutrition as per norms of the scheme.

States have been asked to send regular monthly reports for monitoring. They are expected to strictly monitor the nutritional status of the children using the weight-for-age method and convey the data regarding undernourished children regularly for corrective measures. This includes supply of more nutritional supplements and regular health check-up and other referral services.

States have also been asked to make efforts for providing nutritional supplements of about 300 calories and 8-10 gm of protein in the case of severely malnourished children. In the case of pregnant and lactating mothers the supplements should contain about 500 calories and 20-25 gm of protein.

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